MYSTERIES OF “WIRELESS.”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 130, 25 July 1911, Page 6

MYSTERIES OF “WIRELESS.”

With wireless telegraphy on a commercial basis, one might think that that the invention has been stripped of its mysteries. That such is by no means the case, Mr Marconi, in a lecture before the Royal’ Institution, recently demonstrated. The great inventor frankly admits that there are many phenomena, connected With wireless that still baffle the export. It is a well-known fact that the distance covered by sho t electric waves is far greater at night than during the daytime, but no one can explain this. Not so well known, but equally true, is the fact that with long waves the opposite if anything, is the case, the transmission being inclined to be longer in the day than in the night. Again Mr Marconi offers no explanation. Nor does he know why the distance covered at night in a'north and south direction should be so much greater than in an east and west direction with instruments of equal power; why short waves are generally obstructed by mountains and laud when the sun is shining, but suffer no obstruction in the hours of darkness; and why. a ship in the Mediterranean can thansinit messages across the Alps and over, a huge Continent to post office' stations on the coasts of England and Ireland, but the same ship when placed on the track between England and America, at a similar distance away, and with only water between it and the stations, fails to communicate. Equally baffling are the results of one of the most interesting tests that has yet been made in this branch of telegraphy. Triangular communication was recently established between the high-power stations at Clifdcn, Ireland, and Glace Bay, Nova Scoria, and the Italian steamer Principassa Ma.falda dining her voyage to the Argentine. Messages were obtained without difficulty by day as well as by night up to a distance of 4000 miles from Clifden, but further off’, messages could only he heard at night. At Buenos Ayres, 6000 miles from Clifden, Ireland, the night signals' from both the stations were generally good, though they varied a great deal. But, while the radiations from Clifden were not detected in Buenos Ayres at all in the day time, there was no variation whatever in the day and night messages received from Clifden at Glace Bay, 2400 miles distant. The ways of “wireless” are indeed mysterious.