About Morse Code  BACK

Telegraph Key
 

In 1825, British inventor William Sturgeon (1783-1850) exhibited a device that laid the foundations for large-scale electronic communications: the electromagnet. Sturgeon displayed its power by lifting nine pounds with a seven-ounce piece of iron wrapped with wires through which the current of a single cell battery was sent.

In 1830, an American, Joseph Henry (1797-1878), demonstrated the potential of Sturgeon's device for long distance communication by sending an electronic current over one mile of wire to activate an electromagnet which caused a bell to strike. Thus the electric telegraph was born. Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872), whose sketches of a "magnetized magnet" in operation are shown here, successfully exploited Henry's invention commercially.

While a professor of arts and design at New York University in 1835, Samuel Morse proved that signals could be transmitted by wire. He used pulses of current to deflect an electromagnet, which moved a marker to produce written codes on a strip of paper - the invention of Morse Code. The following year, the device was modified to emboss the paper with dots and dashes. He gave a public demonstration in 1838, but it was not until five years later that Congress (reflecting public apathy) funded $30,000 to construct an experimental telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore, a distance of 40 miles.

Six years later, members of Congress witnessed the sending and receiving of messages over part of the telegraph line. Before the line had reached Baltimore, the Whig party held its national convention there, and on May 1, 1844, nominated Henry Clay. This news was hand-carried to Annapolis Junction (between Washington and Baltimore) where Morse's partner, Alfred Vail, wired it to the Capitol. This was the first news dispatched by electric telegraph.

The message, "What hath God wrought?" sent later by "Morse Code" from the old Supreme Court chamber in the United States Capitol to his partner in Baltimore, officially opened the completed line of May 24, 1844. Morse allowed Annie Ellsworth, the young daughter of a friend, to choose the words of the message, and she selected a verse from Numbers XXIII, 23: "What hath God wrought?", which was recorded onto paper tape. Morse's early system produced a paper copy with raised dots and dashes, which were translated later by an operator.

A Simple Telegraph

Go to RadioShack and you can find battery holders (instead of the one shown here) with wires and a buzzer (instead of the nail wrapped in wire) for about $3 total. Be careful not to cut yourself on the edges of the metal strips. If children will be using the set, you will want to round all sharp corners and perhaps put tape over any exposed sharp edges. The key is made by screwing one of the strips of metal to one of the pieces of wood so that pushing down on the strip brings the strip into electrical contact with the screw that is mounted under it.

Morse Code Alphabet

._ A __. G __ M ... S _.__ Y

_... B .... H _. N _ T __.. Z

_._. C .. I ___ O .._ U

_.. D .___ J .__. P ..._ V

. E _._ K __._ Q .__ W

.._. F ._.. L ._. R _.._ X

 Jeff Danger, Science Ranger
Cool Science Show For Kids

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