The Electro-Magnet a Receiving Telephone

Abstract

THE experiment of Mr. F. G. Lloyd, described in NATURE, vol. xviii. p. 488, is simply a repetition of Page's original experiment, the basis of all telephony. The electro-magnets of ordinary relays and Morse apparatus make capital telephone receivers when their armatures are screwed up, and it is a common thing for operators at intermediate stations in America to enjoy the music that is being transmitted between the terminal stations during some telephonic display. I remember the station-master at Menlo Park telling me that the music sent from New York and received at Philadelphia was heard, much to his surprise and delight, all over his little wayside station. The effect is dependent upon the strength of the currents flowing. With a Riess' transmitter sending musical notes and voltaic currents it can be made very loud. With an Edison or a Hughes transmitter the effect is much less, and with a Bell transmitter it is almost, if not quite, inaudible.