Slashdot Mirror
Signor Marconi's Magic Box
This biography of Marconi, published by Da Capo Press in 2003, is just one in a group of science-related historical accounts that I've been working my way through of late, but stands out from the others in sheer deja vu. Before getting into that, though, let us focus first on the author's deftly accomplished goal of fitting the story of Marconi's life and the development of wireless telegraphy (along with a more than adequate treatment of the historical context) into a book of approximately 300 pages (including two small sections of well-annotated photographs).
For those not familiar with Marconi beyond his popular title as the inventor of the radio, one of the first surprises is that much of the story takes place in England and not Italy, due in no small part to the fact that Marconi's mother was Irish. Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1874. He was raised there, and it was in Bologna that he laid the foundation for his future successes in the wireless business. While the existence of "Hertzian" waves was known before Marconi's work, and even though their use as a medium of communication was certainly being considered by others at the time, Marconi can be credited with key innovations that led to the first practical system of wireless telegraphy. In 1896 he traveled to England to popularize his wireless system, with the help of his mother's family connections. Thus it was England where Marconi launched his first wireless enterprise, and England remained his base of operations for the bulk of his career.
For those not familiar with the history of radio, another surprise may be how just many obstacles initially stood in the way of wireless communication. The BBC World News broadcast didn't start the day after Marconi said, "Aha!" Many of the problems stemmed from a general ignorance of the actual physics involved in radio transmission. For example, early wireless sets worked better during the night than the day (like your radio's AM tuner), and early long-distance transmitters required large amounts of power. The advantages of "short waves," much less the theoretical underpinnings, were not recognized until rather late in the story, relative to Marconi. Marconi himself had little understanding of why his "magic boxes" worked. He focused rather on mechanical innovations that increased the convenience and reliability, and therefore the commercial possibilities, of his previous successes. In this respect, Marconi was much more of a craftsman and businessman than a scientist.
By 1900 there were two companies bearing Marconi's name (the Marconi Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, and the Marconi International Marine Company), though like the true startups they were, neither were making any money. Soon Marconi was almost completely focused on making trans-Atlantic wireless telegraphy a reality. It was near this point in the narrative that I started to see reflections of "modern" legal, political, and cultural themes.
For the curious, let's dispense with these first: Marconi was an "early adopter" of the then-recent advances in automobile technology (he was seriously injured in an automobile accident later in his life). So the book makes mention of the fact that, because of the rapid rise in the popularity of motoring, as early as 1904 the police in England were setting up "speed traps." So the next time you are yelling at the cop who just pulled you over, take a moment to consider your small but vital role in over 100 years of tradition. Also of interest, the book discusses the roots of the "broadcast" concept, some of which involved the telephone system. This leads to the mention of consumer complaints, dating back to the early 1900s, about unsolicited sales calls. I won't ask you to consider, the next time your dinner is interrupted, your small but vital role in that tradition. It's just too depressing.
In December of 1901, Marconi received in Newfoundland the first trans-Atlantic wireless telegraph signal, transmitted from one of his stations in England. At that time, the business of trans-Atlantic communications (i.e. telegraph messages) was monopolized by the small set of companies that owned undersea cables. One cable company even had a legally-defined monopoly on telegraphy in Newfoundland, a fact they quickly pointed out to Marconi, forcing him to take his business to Canada. [ed. note: Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949.]
As news of Marconi's accomplishment spread, cable-company stocks began to "wobble." It was assumed by many that once long-distance wireless telegraphy became widespread, the lower cost-per-message for wireless would put the cable companies out of business. Of course, that never really happened. (It's worth noting here that the revolution of radio broadcast came later. Just as no one looking at the ARPANET could see Slashdot, no one looking at the first wireless efforts could see Wolfman Jack, Howard Stern, or Rush Limbaugh.) Soon however, despite the lack of much actual commercial wireless success, "wireless mania" was spreading through parts of the world, especially in the United States. Fraudulent businesses were created, patents (legitimate and otherwise) were being granted, competing standards were leading to international political frictions, patent-infringement suits were being brought, competitors were being bought out, and amateurs were gleefully "hacking" the system. It wasn't long before government regulations were being imposed and bureaucracy was slowing down the adoption of new technologies. Hopefully you can see why all this started to feel more than just vaguely familiar. I do not want to leave anyone with the impression that Signor Marconi's Magic Box is just a depressing litany of the recurring problems of civilization. It's hardly that. Actually the fact that I was able to identify on a modern level with much of the history made an already interesting book even more interesting.
Signor Marconi's Magic Box is pretty much everything you could want in a historical biography, perhaps more. The author touches on enough aspects of the development of wireless telegraphy to keep the story fresh, including most if not all of the personalities involved, and he seems to give credit where it's due. He provides enough detail of Marconi's life to give us a good sense of the man, but not so much as to weigh down the narrative. Likewise, he provides enough technical detail to give us a sense of the technology, but not so much as to detract from the human aspects of the tale. If you are not hooked yet, please allow me brief mention of some other aspects of the story, including: forbidden love, intrigue, war, murder, shipwrecks, practical jokes, heroic deeds, another war, and international espionage. If I had to sum it all up in one sentence it would be this: Any book that contains the phrase "two-ton transformer blew up" can't be all bad.
You can purchase Signor Marconi's Magic Box: The Most Remarkable Invention of the 19th Century & the Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked a Revolution from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Anyone interested in this will also like The Victorian Internet, Tom Standage, Walker and Company NY, ISBN 0802713424. It's a slim volume about the wired telegraph, with fascinating parallels to the internet's early years. Here is the Books-A-Million link.
Infuriate left and right
1900s
at the beginning of the 20th century.
Man: Western Union, telegram for you, Miss.
Lady: Ah, I hope this is from my brother Charles, he's been out west working in the silent film business know! (opens telegram)
Subject says it all... Telsa was first.
Should be called 'Telsa's magic box' *HE* deserves the credit.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I wonder if the author points out the fact that Marconi blatently 'borrowed' technology for his radio, stealing the title of inventor of the radio from Nikola Tesla?
But, I bett a name like Coppick was a bitch to carry around at school.
Wanna know what's really awesome? He received the first signal in Newfoundland, but, if memory serves, he SENT the first signal the other way from Cape Breton. The exact site of this location is about... Oh... One hundred feet from my chair. The Marconi Monument at Table Head is small, but cool. We get tourists from all over the world here.
Gavin Weightman tells the story of the life of Guglielmo Marconi...
My guess...
Up until the point he revolutionized communication, he got beat up a lot and kids called him Goulash Macaroni.
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
And I'll refer to my copy of "The Marconi Book of Wireless", first edition 1936, if I need any insight - thanks!
AT&ROFLMAO
what about Mrs. Marconi's magic box?
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
I just finished some Marconi and Cheese for lunch not 5 minutes before this story was posted.
For those not familiar with Marconi beyond his popular title as the inventor of the radio, one of the first surprises is that much of the story takes place in England and not Italy, due in no small part to the fact that Marconi's mother was Irish. Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1874. He was raised there, and it was in Bologna that he laid the foundation for his future successes in the wireless business. While the existence of "Hertzian" waves was known before Marconi's work, and even though their use as a medium of communication was certainly being considered by others at the time, Marconi can be credited with key innovations that led to the first practical system of wireless telegraphy. In 1896 he traveled to England to popularize his wireless system, with the help of his mother's family connections. Thus it was England where Marconi launched his first wireless enterprise, and England remained his base of operations for the bulk of his career.
This is utter Bologna! I can't believe it!
I wonder whether the book gives credit to Tesla, the man that some see as the true inventor of the radio. Some background information at: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_whoradio.html
While Mr. Weightman is a little skimpy on biographical depth (I never quite felt I understood what made Marconi tick), he is great on interesting details...for example, he explains how wireless was used to help capture the infamous murderer Dr. Crippen, and he also tells how Orthodox Russian priests once almost destroyed Marconi equipment because they wanted to anoint it with holy water! The book is meant for the lay reader, and the scientific detail is kept to a minimum. Very enjoyable.
Man i need to slow down and start proof reading..
I agree, that Tesla didnt have a clue how to market his talent and was taken advantage of many a time.. for all that he accomplished in his life.. he died pennyless...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
It's a pity that a genius like Tesla does not get the credit he deserves in the modern world....
Service guarantees Citizenship! Questions Guarantee GITMO.... Amerika Uber Alles!
Marconi was much more of a craftsman and businessman than a scientist.
I think the above sums up a lot about Marconi and radio. He did little more then make the Hertzian spark gap generator acceptable for trans atlantic transmissions along with a practical receiver. The transmitter technology was so primitive/disruptive that is was banned later on.
Real radio came from a handful of other inventors who don't get much credit these days. Tesla did lots of work at the same time as Marconi on modulated carrier waves for radio (the method we use today).
He shouldn't hold the title "inventor of radio", but "inventor of the radio industry".
Fill up my motorcar with petroleum distillate, and revulcanize my tires. Posthaste! I must get to the anti-speedbump meeting!
Was there some kind of convention for 21st Century thieves where they trained dittoheads to spout "get over it" as the response to charges of theft?
--
make install -not war
...listen to the ray-dee-o.
i'm stretching myself with the subject, so bear with me.
not only did Marconi not invent the radio (though i'll admit he did help make it useful), but he was an assistant of Tesla's at the time.
can you imagine how you would feel if one of YOUR assistants patented one of YOUR new inventions right under your knose?
and not only that, but after Marconi emigrated to South America, he took with him another one of Tesla's inventions and used it to fly to Mars!
(no, i'm not really serious.)
grey wolf
LET FORTRAN DIE!
and then high-tail it out before the sun goes down.
A very prudent move, if you ask me.
Ken Russell is currently in production with his biopic about Tesla, the inventor of radio, AC power, and everything else in the 20th Century except toothpaste tubes and the phonograph.
"What's a Radio Picture?" - the Rocky Horror Picture Show audience
--
make install -not war
"I want-a to change-a my a-name-a!"
He was last seen saving the world with Jake Stonebender and the rest of the gang from Callahan's.
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
~\o Marconi plays the mambo, listen to the radio ~\o
I will suggest that all and sundry might enjoy "Whispers in the Air", a radio documentary about Marconi that was produced literally at the foot of the cliff in St Johns where Marconi made his historic broadcast.
RealAudio links are to be found on this page.
Chris Brookes is a wonderful award winning producer, and has also worked on documentaries about Vikings and about Reginald Fessenden, who all Canadians know beat Marconi to the punch any how.
"A Canadian, Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was the first person to prove that voices and music could be heard over the air without wires. Yet some books ignore him, others mistakenly call him an American, and one Canadian encyclopedia cites his mother as the principal founder of Empire Day but overlooks her eldest son's accomplishments. Marconi, on the other hand, is given credit for radio even though his theory on sound waves was wrong and even though he was still sending only Morse code signals when Fessenden made his first "broadcast.""
Three Squirrels
He can be credited, but not correctly. He made no key innovations over Tesla's system. He was a businessman.
The parallels today's software world with Gates in the position of Marconi. Great businessman, but not an innovator. But he is who "the unwashed masses" know and who will probably be remembered in the history books.
On NWI (Canada) I saw an interview with Marconi's daughter. She was also the Princess of Italy but that's beside the point.
Anyway, she told of how when she was a little girl her dad would take her and and family friends out on the family yacht and would amaze them with his electrical gadgetry, namely a device that he would throw a line over the side and troll it behind the boat for a few hours. When he would reel it in there would be spider webs of gold thread trailing off of it.
She was only 6 or 7 at the time and didn't understand what he was doing but she said it had something to do with radio frequencies that attracted the gold particles in the sea water to the antenna, they would bind and create the spider webs.
That was one cool ass interview. She had LOTS of neat stories about the things her father did back in the day..
Tesla sold his patents on AC to George Westinghouse for not a lot of money. Westinghouse was prepared to pay up to 20 million. Tesla then poured his energies into wirless energy transmission and was far more innovative than others in this area. Marconi got the patent, (which was under dispute until after Tesla died, at which point he was found to hold the prior art) and the profit.
An American invents radio, people are impressed, the patent office rejects his application, nothing happens, and he dies broke.
Some goddamned dago comes along and takes all the glory. That's fucked up.
but Tesla invented the radio.
Go to
www.teslasociety.com/radio.htm
Interesting, that wireless communication was not adopted by military in WWI, but in WWII it made a critical difference. German blitzkriegs in France and Russia were possible because they embraced radio through the all chain of commands. Opposite, russian tanks (on average thechnically superior to germans) and fighters didn't have a radio in the first years of war and were massacred by german. Russians had to learn importance of the wireless communication by hard way. I don't belive in the "Internet Pearl Harbor" in the nearest decade. But in 20-30 years Gibbson-stile information warfare may be possible...
I wonder how you would classify Edison, with 1368 patents to his name but no formal scientific pedagogy.
A lot of scientists incorporate & turn into businessman/scientist - eg Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Stephen Wolfram ( Founder of Mathematica ), Dr. R & Dr. A ( invented the RSA cryptographic scheme, Carl Sagan, and a whole lot of people in biotech.
The skillsets to be both seem conflicting - businessmen need a Machiavellical sense of brutal realism, while scientists are pursuing truths in the gentler idealic realm of Plato.
Actually, Newton and Leibniz both invented calculus independently. Newton invented it first, but Leibniz published first. Now, though, they both get credit.
But, Marconi could not have invented radio by himself, and yet Tesla is just a footnote.
Has anyone mentioned Tesla yet?
i wasnt aware that radio was really invented by a mediocre 90s soft-rock band...
An even more appropriate companion to this book would be Susan Douglas' Inventing American Broadcasting. It has a fascinating chapter on amateur radio operators that reads like a pre-history of computer hackers. She describes how these operators -- young, adolescent, middle-class boys obsessed with a technology for technology's sake -- provided a critical mass for broadcast radio (which had a chicken-and-egg problem -- without an established base of users no-one wanted to develop broadcast stations). The parallels with the early personal computer industry are striking. Although she does not make the point explicitly, Douglas implies that hacker culture is not as unique (at least as modern) as we sometimes make she. She explains it as part of a larger set of structural and cultural changes that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. A good read.
IIRC, The Japanese didn't carry radios in their Zero-sen fighters during WWII. The pilots communicated to each other visually to each other through hand signals. The bigger planes had them, but the familiar silver plane with the red meatball insignia seen all around the Pacific didn't.
I also recall that the Russian fighter that shot down that KAL flight that wandered into their airspace back in the mid-80's didn't have a voice radio, rather the radio it did have was used to light up a panel that showed what the commanders wanted the pilot to do.
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
Actually, Tesla did license the patent to Westinghouse for the AC motor for decent royalties, but one night Westinghouse did an RIAA move and begged Tesla to revoke his royalties, saying that the financial obligation would crush the company! Tesla thought about it and signed it in engineering spirit, giving a way millions.
Suffice to say this cramped Tesla's research, invention, and partying capacities, and he ended up dying in an NY apartment in the forties after having lived only on crackers and milk for many years and having some weird spiritual experience with a pigeon-- likely a virgin to boot (Not pulling your leg, from Tesla: Man out of Time).
I just hope the same happens to Britney Spears, NSync, etc.
RIAA:"Britney, Justin, your royalties are killing us. Just sign this form and we all might survive. Ignore the fine print selling us an option for your death by crackers and milk."
Marconi invented nothing, he borrowed from Tesla. Tesla is the reason we have computers, Tesla is the reason we have wireless, Tesla is god. :)
History lesson over.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. Emo Philips
The idea of wireless communication was "in the air". See this for a very accurate account about the work of Alexander Popov who demonstrated wireless transmission before Marconi did. Being a businessman, not a scientist, Marconi patented the invention made by other people.
...but I don't want it buried in the depths of modding.
Tesla had working, wireless voice communications a decade before Marconi even tried simple things such as Morse[1] code.
How brilliant was Tesla? Some think of him as a crackpot, but there are a few things which cannot be disputed: 1) AC: had he not worked & developed AC (not necessarily alone), Edison[2] would have been the "winner" and DC would be used, requiring a substation nearly every other city block. 2) He demonstrated mastery of other forms of power & electricity. This includes "fireballs" which have only been seen sporadically in nature and he created & displayed them at will. 3) He believed it was possible to transmit power wirelessly - imagine if he'd had time to finish that before he died in 1943? 4) The most telling statement of all: the government largely considered him to be a crackpot. If this were true, why did the government confiscate everything he owned when he died? IOW, if he was so far out in left field, why would they have done that?
[1] Because most of the people who post on Slashdot can't get spelling & punctuation correct, I'm pointing out eponymous examples requiring capitalization.
[2] Edison even tried to subvert AC: he paid the neighborhood kids to bring in cats & dogs and he electrocuted them. The animals were then used as examples of what would happen to anyone/anything who came into contact with AC - how dangerous it could be. Also, after AC was installed in the White House, the President [and and family] required the staff to flip the switches. AC accomplished what it was supposed to, but the *great* Thomas Edison stated how dangerous it was and the President couldn't take the risk of being electrocuted.
Seeing those lonely foundation blocks where the towers once stood is only enough to give one a glimpse of what that huge structure must have been like. We take a lot for granted nowdays, but seeing what is left of one of the first successful attempts to bridge the Atlantic - and imagining how it must have been like then - really makes you realize how big a deal this was at the time. I don't think I've -ever- felt so humbled as when I stood there by those old foundation blocks, looking east out over the ocean.
I game, therefore I am...
The entry for Marconi reads, in full, Italian Electrician.
This always seemed to me to be the most astonishingly unhelpful description imaginable.
Protoplasm. Quiet Protoplasm. I like quiet protoplasm.
Found these quotes after a quick search
re: Mahlon Loomis
Subj: Very Early US RADIO HISTORY (1864 to 1874 period) Text: In 1864 a Washington DC Dentist demonstrated publically wireless radio between two local 2000 ft tall mountains in nearby Virginia.
**** In 1872 US Congress awarded the inventor with a Patent on wire- less radio.
**** In 1873 he was awarded by US Congress the Corporate Charter for "Loomis Aerial Telegraphy Corporation".
**** Public debate also went on in US Congress why he should receive a requested grant of $50,000.
**** 100 Years later, on July 3, 1972 the US Library of Congress held a 55 document Exhibit in 3 display cases remembering this mans work on wireless radio.
**** Navy Commander Thomas Appleby wrote the book "Mahlon Loomis Inventor of Radio" (copyright in 1967).
**** For more information contact me at: N3RF, Svanholm Research Laboratories / Loomis Scientific Research Foundation Box 81, Washington, DC 20044 with SASE.
****
re: Charles Herrold
The world's first radio station still broadcasting today was invented by Charles Herrold in 1909 in San Jose, California. His accomplishment was first documented in a notarized statement written by him and published in the Electro-Importing Company's 1910 catalog: "We have given wireless phone concerts to amateur wireless men throughout the Santa Clara Valley." Being the first to "broadcast" radio entertainment and information to a mass audience puts him at the forefront of modern day mass communication.
Marconi invented the radio? Sure as long as Bill Gates sold the first operating system for the Intel microprocessor.
Let's just set the facts straight here #1 Marconi did not invent radio #2 Marconi was known by the scientific as a thief within inventors, he would become friends with other inventors and would patent their invention before the creator could in many occasions. Marconi stole most of his electrical inventions from other inventors Nicola Tesla being one of them.
Indeed, life still exists in the hills above Hollywood, home of the...ahem... "United States repeatahhhh"
Nobody besides every geek on this thread.
-- Boycott Shell
let's not forget that Tesla was also responsible for selecting 60hz as the standard frequency for Westinghouse's AC system, a frequency still in use in the vast majority of Western electricity today.
Glenn Dixon http://vagabondians.com
Bell paid for Marconi's lab out in the east coast where he made the transatlantic radio premier. Marconi was washed up and Bell rescued him. We owe a great deal more to Bell than we assume.
That's wrong. Maybe they didn't have scrambled voice radio, so did rely on panel for secure communications.
Actually there were reports of recorded pilot's conversations made by Japanese. Here: http://avia.russian.ee/air/747/kale_3.html
Reference at U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory Apparently IEEE also recognized Bose's contribution to Radio. Maybe a someone with access to IEEE material (Google has not helped me) can substantiate this.
resurrect my
Marconi shamelessly used many of Tesla's patents in his apparatus with no credit, verbal or monetary, to him. Doesn't that make Marconi a thief?
A great deal of the responsibility for Tesla being largely forgotten goes to the Smithsonian Institution. They choose to be totally ignorant of his accomplishments; going so far as displaying some of his inventions in the Edison exhibit. (You could probably build a 1,000HP generator around Tesla spinning in his grave over this - but alas, he was cremated!)
Tesla was in arrears for his subscription to the Smithsonian magazine, perhaps this is their petty way of getting their due from him? He is reported to have met their inquiries to his tardiness with this reply: "I hope, therefore, that you will interpret the term 'immediate attention' in a liberal, I might say geological, sense." They remain humorless to this day. (Quote from "Tesla, Master of Lightning" by Margaret Cheney and Robert Uth - Metrobooks publishing, copyright 1999 by the authors.)
There are a couple of great books on Tesla, if anybody is interested, both by Margaret Cheney:
"Tesla, a Man Out of Time" & "Tesla, Master of Lightning" (with Robert Uth)
They are, IMHO, 'must reads' for anyone interested in looking into the mind of pure genius, albeit, possessing poor to no business acumen. That alone is primarily why he died virtually unknown to academia and hence, future generations.
During the "war of the currents" he actually tore up his licensing agreements with Westinghouse, thereby allowing AC to emerge victorious; but, leaving Tesla a virtual pauper. He had no regrets over that, but was disappointed later in life when Westinghouse turned his back on him.
Nonetheless, his legacy lives on...
The 'and gate' couldn't be patented in the 50's because Tesla already patented the concept in 1898 in his radio controlled ships and torpedoes. (patent #613,809)
There are countless examples of instances like this, where decades and scores of years would go by and some inventor would come up against Tesla for his patents. Yet he remains virtually unknown.
Fly-back transformers (TVs) and ignition coils (cars) are variants of Tesla coils, yet nobody knows him.
We generate and transmit power by means that remain unchanged in the hundred plus years since Tesla invented the system, yet he is a stranger in his adopted country. (He was most proud of his citizenship papers - that was one of the very few documents that he would keep in his safe.)
His bladeless turbine couldn't be made to work in his day due to the lack of strength in the materials he had to work with; but, they are in production today and used in mines, oilfields and elsewhere. It is noteworthy that even with modern materials these turbines can not be run at full efficiency as the rotors tend to flow as a viscus fluid at full operating speed (30,000RPM!)
High energy research today is just coming up to speed with some of Tesla's inventions and ideas: plasma physics, particle beams, and microwave broadcasting of energy are but a few things that he was working on a century ago. Those concepts and designs weren't even understood to science until the fifties!
Some of his apparatus and ideas remain mysterious to this day, but work is progressing.
Man out of time, indeed! A pox on Marconi!
Keeper of the terrible karma ---
In 1943 the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's claim that his patents predated ANY of Marconi's concerning radio transmission apparatus.
I don't know about other, earlier claims, but Tesla, not Marconi, is the father of modern radio, especially insofar as the superhetrodine transmitter/receiver combination we employ today.
Keeper of the terrible karma ---
Then some documentary I saw at one time was wrong. At that time they showed a plane, a "light panel" that showed orders issued from the ground controllers and mentioned that there was no way for the pilot to use his radio (to contact the KAL flight) because the Soviets at the time did not allow their aircraft to transmit on civilian frequencies to presumably make defections more difficult.
This was shown ages ago, perhaps around the time of the incident. Thanks for the link, I hate it when I spout off inaccurate info.
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit