PICTURES BY WIRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 550, 3 July 1909, Page 6

PICTURES BY WIRE.

A MARVELLOUS INVENTION. LIGHT AND COLOUR' TRANSMITTED; A recent ■ cable : message, from London stated that experts spoke well of an invention by, tie. brothers Andersen, of Copenhagen, for . the transmission of light, and colour, by means of which a, telephonist ie visible from pother, end .of the wire,'and ie able to show anything he likes across the WHXS3. ■."'. . .''.'. Writing.in tie "Daily' Mail" of May IL. Jγ , iS-P o ™*? : Baker describee:., graphically the latest working' picture-tianenueeion te£ autography. "Telegraphy and telephony," he writes aro constantly advancing) though to thoee not actually acquainted with tho subject the progress may. seem trifling and even insignincant. Ihe wiring of pictures and ph6tograptw, which. to the lay mind . seems more wonderful than, the telegraph ' and teky phone,,has 'come I :mnchkter, but it has oomo to-.stay, .and the development of this now efectricai science' haa . been' in reality very rapfd.: - ..''.- '. .'. ■. '

First Photograph Wired. " :=rr *~~ "It is over; eighteen months ago that the tot photograph was wired from Berlin to Pans by means of. the instruments invented by ProfessorKorn,. of Munich,: and a few days later a telegraphed portrait of King Edward, was received from Paris in London. Following that event, a regular communication was kept up between Paris and London, and the British' public .became quite

familiar with the characteristic photo-telo-grapbjo portraits. \ > "The necessity for sending a very simple subject such as a portrait was, however, a senous hindrance to the system, and the development of Professor Korn'e telautograph—an instrument for telegraphing oomplicated subjects such as laadscapee, etc— was eagerly awaited. "It Iβ the telautograph which is now at work wrßh such success, and although there are many defects to bo yet overcome tho new system is so full of promise that we may now confidently look forward to genuine and rapid progress. . "The working of the instrument which transmits pictures by wire-is exceedingly simple and straightforward—it is the delicacy of adjustment required that demands so much care and attention! ' / Apparatus and Methods, i "Imagine a photograph broken up into linos of varying thickness, 'so that several thick parallel linos form" a dark portion, .while thin lines for the light portions, the various tones' being dependent on the thick-

ness of the oompotent Hues. Now it fe possible to print such a photograph or picture upon a thin sheet of copper, the lines consisting of gum or glue. Suoh a picture is attached to a metal cylinder, which revolves in, spiral fashwn in tho instrument, just like a. phonograph record. "A email metal needle or style presses on the cylinder, and thus comes into contact with each tiny section, one by one, as the picture revolves and travels forward) beneath it. "An electric current is led through the •cylinder, via tho needle, into the telegraph linee 'connecting the transmitter with the receiving apparatus. The paseago of the

of a sensitive photograph fihn which is attached tea drum- D that revolves spirally in a dark box in exactly the same manner and at the eame rate as the transmitting cylinder. "A emajl electric jsbutter 8 is placed in .the path of the light, and intercepts it eb that it cannot reach the sensitive film. But every time -the electric current flows/ i.e., when the, motal needle is in contact with the copper picture; and not soparated' frora it by one of the gum lines—the shutter rises and allows the light to pass. ' ■■■.'■• "These intermittent exposure's depend' for their duration upon the width of the gum Unes m the picture being telegraphed, .and hence on. developing the film, a reproduction of the picture is obtained.' • Extreme Minuteness. ■ |: "It is when we tea/rm that the electric shutter is only about a two-thousandth'of'an inch in srzeend'is attached to silver wires a thousandth of ai inch in thickness that we begin, to reaiiso what delicacy 'is required' in/ the carrying" oat of the work. This minute ter. moves between the pake of a powerful eleci tromagnet shown in. the, figure. .. of ofectrio current employed is less .than the hundredth part of that'required to light an ordinary eight candle-power lamp',' yet it. has to perform its work and build up., a. picture perhaps a thousand mike away. •'The' 3>aily Mirror , (Manchester), receivee a telautograph .picture from Paris < every evening, and ids now Installed an instrument at; Manchester; from' which late, news pictnresare being wired to London for -publication in the 'next morning's paper. ■ The time of transmission is only sii or seven minute 3.': '■ '■ - ■ .'■■■'. • ■'. . .:".-■ ..: .-.. ' "A eplendid example of the possibilities of the telsirtograph was furnished recently by

the transmission of a'picture of the finish of the Grand 'National;: Race; ,'tiJis photograph was; taken from the' racecourse; by 'special motor-car to .Liverpool, 'rushed , thence"' - by train to iManc'liester,, quickly conwrted into 'a line picture, and telegraphed to London, :whe-re it was received many hours ■'beforeHhe' first photograph arrived \'. iri : ' Londcar :;.by" train. !■ ' ':i '.. :■; •..•.. ' ■:...■■•■'.■■. v, •■■■:.••■ : . ■''-: r: :- ,i,. ■ "The telautograph -will-certainly; link \ip, all the chief cities in Europe, and the English / newspaper-reading. public ; will. ,bjj ! "" ]4nabkd to keep in touch with the i customs and iiicidonts of neighbouring 'countries; and we, shall be able to see. as well doirige of other.nations ;simultanepualy."' ■..--...-.