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How did people talk before cell phones? | History Remade with Sabrina — Transcript

by HISTORY · 3,207 words · 500 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00How hard can it be to make a telegraph?
0:07Oh,
0:10hey there. I'm Sabrina and this is
0:12History Remade with Sabrina. In each
0:14episode, we deep dive on an iconic
0:16object in history and explore the
0:18interesting engineering behind the
0:20build. Today, we're remaking Samuel
0:22Morse's telegraph to figure out how a
0:24simple series of dots and dashes changed
0:26the way the world communicates. Beep
0:29beep beep beep. That joke was a lot
0:33funnier when I wrote it at 2 a.m.
0:38All right, the telegraph. Your cell
0:40phone's cool greatgrandparent. Nowadays,
0:43it's pretty easy to take quick
0:44communication for granted between
0:46emails, texts, social media, yelling
0:49really loudly across the room. Hi
0:51Melissa.
0:52Hi Sabrina. Like it is easier than ever
0:55to instantaneously communicate with
0:57somebody anywhere in the world. But it
1:00wasn't always this way. Here's how the
1:02telegraph changed communication. For
1:05most of human history, communication was
1:07limited by physical delivery or
1:09sightelines, but small improvements to
1:11these systems served as a major
1:12advantage over time. Consider the
1:14Seaphore network used by Napoleon.
1:16Messages were conveyed by the
1:18positioning of the arms and relayed
1:19through the network, allowing Napoleon
1:21to coordinate his troops faster than his
1:23enemies to such success that some
1:25consider it his secret weapon. From
1:28growing empires to blossoming nations,
1:30the advantages of faster communication
1:32were clear. But the technological
1:34capability was limited until the advent
1:37of electromagnetism in the 1800s,
1:40allowing us to realize mechanical action
1:42at electric speeds. Early explorers
1:45sought ways to apply and improve the
1:47technology, including Joseph Henry, who
1:49found ways to build stronger
1:50electromagnets and maintain current
1:52across larger circuits. These
1:55developments unlocked many new
1:56possibilities, including a little idea
1:58conceived by Samuel Morse in 1832, the
2:02electric telegraph. He wasn't the first
2:04in the world to imagine nor create such
2:06a communications device, but his
2:08relatively simple design was the first
2:10to secure a patent in America. With a
2:13little assistance, his system dominated
2:15the continent and eventually the world.
2:18Quite quickly, messages that once needed
2:20days or months to travel using boats,
2:22trains, and carriages could now be
2:24communicated in a matter of hours with a
2:26simple dash dot dash dot dash dash dot.
2:31Today, we are building a working
2:32telegraph that uses the same fundamental
2:35components of Morse's design. Now, I'm
2:37not going to promise an exact replica
2:39because that's really hard to do. There
2:41were a bunch of iterations on the design
2:42and the first version would be pretty
2:44unrecognizable from what you've seen on
2:46movies or TV, but we're going to try our
2:48best.
2:50Do you know Morse code?
2:52No, I'm not 100. I use a cell phone.
2:55Let's go. Take one. All right. So, with
2:59every build, we're going to be focusing
3:00on exploring time accurate techniques
3:02over time accurate materials. So, we're
3:04going to be using things that you could
3:05grab at your local hardware or craft
3:07store. For this build, we're going to be
3:09using the following. Now, it might be
3:13useful for you to know how a telegraph
3:15works on a basic level to contextualize
3:17the rest of this build. Basically,
3:19you're going to be using an
3:20electromagnet, which for our purposes is
3:23basically just a magnet you could turn
3:24on and off. You do that using a switch.
3:27That's the thing that people tap on to
3:29create a pattern that corresponds to
3:30letters. Now, in the on position, the
3:33electromagnet attracts a piece of metal.
3:34Let's imagine the electromagnet is right
3:36here. It attracts a piece of metal,
3:38making it hit something and make a
3:39clicking sound. Click. In the off
3:41position, the metal is released back
3:43into its natural position, hitting
3:45something again and making a clacking
3:47sound like clack. The click doesn't
3:50matter more than the clack. It's just
3:51there's this consistency. And that's
3:53because when the action is done quickly,
3:55click clack, that is a dot. When the
3:58action is done slowly, click clack,
4:02that's a dash. Now, don't worry if that
4:04was a lot. I'll go over it again
4:06throughout the build, which breaks down
4:08into five steps. Making the key, making
4:12the sounder, making the battery,
4:14connecting the circuit, and sending a
4:17message.
4:19Let's move on to step one, making the
4:21key.
4:23Now, the key is that tappy bit of the
4:25telegraph. At its most basic level, it's
4:27just essentially two pieces of
4:29conductive metal. Uh when you connect
4:31them, you actually allow a current to
4:34pass through. So when they're connected,
4:35this is the on position. When you
4:37separate them, that connection is
4:39broken. So this is the off position.
4:41Now, obviously, doing this is neither
4:44efficient or safe. So Morse and Veil
4:47made a more ergonomic design. And here
4:49are the pieces of that design. So you'll
4:53notice that this lever bit has a piece
4:54of metal on it, and there's a piece of
4:56metal here. The goal is to get them to
4:58touch, but you don't want them touching
4:59constantly, or else it's always going to
5:01be in the on position. So, they made a
5:04little bit of a metal lever that's made
5:05of sheet metal. I don't want to cut my
5:07hands, so we're putting on safety
5:08gloves. We love safety here. So, this
5:11piece of sheet metal kind of acted as a
5:13spring. You'll notice that if this is
5:15levered here, it'll just keep falling
5:17down and it'll constantly stay in the on
5:20position, which you don't want cuz you
5:22can't really send a message in patterns
5:23if it's always on. So, this piece of
5:25sheet metal will go here and it's going
5:27to rest like that. We're going to get
5:29some hammering going.
5:33Uh, wait. Speaking of safety, should we
5:35be wearing the goggles or something?
5:38Probably.
5:43First try.
5:52Nice. Next thing, it's time to attach
5:55this bad boy. Now, we're going to use
5:58nuts and a series of bolts. I can do
6:00this by hand. I'm going to try and do it
6:02by drill.
6:04[Music]
6:09No, that was the right one.
6:15Shh. Go. Got her. Got her. I just need
6:18to get all these pieces lined up and
6:20then my galaxy brain plan may work.
6:23Might not, but might.
6:29Is my master plan working? Is it moving?
6:33Yeah, it's moving.
6:36Check this out. So, when the lever is at
6:38rest, nobody's touching it. These bolts
6:40are not connecting. So, that is the off
6:43position. Now, if I press down, they do
6:46touch. Now, it's in the on position. But
6:49if I want to release, flicks right back
6:52up. Back into the off position.
6:54Ergonomic. Fantastic. Let's move on to
6:57step two. making the sounder. Now,
7:00here's the thing. When you see a
7:01telegraph system in movies, the person
7:04on the receiving end is usually in front
7:06of some sort of machine, right? And
7:07they're listening and tently and they're
7:09writing out this direct translation.
7:11Well, that's the sounder, and we're
7:13going to be building that, but
7:15interestingly, it isn't the original way
7:17to receive a telegraph. So, do you
7:19remember how the receiver works? I
7:21mentioned it at the start of this video,
7:22but basically, there's an electromagnet,
7:24and it attracts a piece of metal
7:26downwards, making it hit something. This
7:28causes a clicking sound. Click. When
7:31that electromagnet is turned off, the
7:33metal is no longer attracted to it,
7:35letting it tilt back up to its original
7:36resting position, tapping a resting
7:38piece and making a clacking sound.
7:41Clack. Now, if this happens quickly, on
7:44off, click clack, that is a dot. If it
7:47happens slowly, on off, click clack,
7:51that is a dash. But think about it, dots
7:53and dashes. Why would we use such a
7:55visual reference for an audible event?
7:58Well, that's because when Morse and Veil
8:00first released their telegraph system,
8:02that receiver mechanism actually wrote
8:04out the dots and dashes. That click
8:06clack sound was just a byproduct of the
8:08action. However, once telegraphs really
8:10rolled out, operators got so good at
8:12translating that they were able to do it
8:14based on the click-clack sound alone.
8:16Thus, the design of the receiver changed
8:19to focus on making that sound as audible
8:21as possible, hence the term sounder.
8:24Anyway, this whole thing of moving metal
8:26and making sound relies on the idea of
8:28turning an electromagnet on and off, and
8:31that is where electromagnetism comes in.
8:33I know that this is a history show, but
8:35I promise some physics isn't going to
8:37hurt. So, back in the 1800s, a bunch of
8:40scientists noticed that electricity and
8:42magnetism were related in an interesting
8:44way. When an electric charge is moving,
8:46it has a magnetic field. It's it's the
8:50same phenomenon that exists within just
8:52a normal magnet, there's this magnetic
8:54field that orients the electrons in the
8:56metal to all point in the same direction
8:58so that it is attracted to the magnet.
9:01With that in mind, let's talk about
9:02electromagnets. Now, when a charge is
9:05moving along a straight wire, the
9:07magnetic field looks like this. Of the
9:09currents going this way, it would look
9:11like this. This process is called the
9:12right- hand rule. uh it tells you the
9:15way the magnetic field looks but also is
9:18an easy way to spot a physics student.
9:20Now when you coil the wire the magnetic
9:22field lines get focused in the center.
9:24Now theoretically a single coil can
9:27operate just like a bar magnet as a
9:29result of these magnetic field lines.
9:31However, that is way too weak. If you
9:34coil it multiple times, uh that does
9:37stack the effect. But even this is still
9:40super weak. But Morse learned from
9:43Joseph Henry that if you insert iron
9:45inside of this coil, it amplifies the
9:48field even more so. So that when our
9:50switch is on and there is a current
9:52flowing through, it really is about the
9:54same power as a basic bar magnet. And
9:57when our switch is off, the magnetic
9:59field goes away. And this kind of just
10:01becomes like an interesting design
10:03choice. I hope that made sense. Anyway,
10:06I've pre-assembled our sounder just
10:09because the electricity and the
10:12electromagnets get a little bit finicky.
10:15Electricity is hard. For example, this
10:18lever needs to be just slightly off
10:20equilibrium. Hence, this weight back
10:22here. We needed to do just a bunch of
10:26high school physics to realize how much
10:29this counterwe needed to weigh.
10:32What a throwback. So, if I bring this
10:34magnet in, it's kind of like turning the
10:36electromagnet on. And so, we should
10:38expect to get our click. And if I remove
10:42the magnet or turn the electromagnet
10:44off, we will get our clack.
10:48Click clack. Uh, it's a very small
10:52movement. All right, that's enough for
10:54step two. It's time for step three.
10:57Making the battery. Early telegraph
10:59circuits used batteries made of a glass
11:01jar filled with chemical solution and
11:03some electrodes, making what is just a
11:05much wetter, less efficient version of
11:07the stuff you could get at the stores.
11:10So, because of that, I confess this step
11:12is a bit of a misnomer. I am not making
11:15a battery. I don't want to sneeze and
11:17accidentally knock over my electricity
11:19juice. So, I'm just going to use a 9volt
11:21battery. Uh, we've created a little
11:23mount. We've even marked the terminals.
11:25And we've got these cute little cap to
11:27help us wire things in. Uh, while I'm
11:30fessing up to things though, I should
11:31probably add that I've been saying that
11:33we're making a telegraph when really a
11:36telegraph is any device used to
11:38communicate a long distance through
11:40coded symbols. Napoleon Semaphore
11:42Network used telegraphs. Gesturing with
11:44a boat flag is a telegraph. I mean, if I
11:46just waved at you, I guess my arm is a
11:49telegraph.
11:54Anyway, what we're making right now is
11:55an electric telegraph. We're using
11:57electricity to communicate a long
11:59distance through dots and dashes. With
12:02that off of my chest, let's get the
12:04electricity flowing with step four,
12:06connecting the circuit. A circuit is
12:08just a path along which electrons flow.
12:11In our case, we need the circuit to
12:12carry a charge from our key to our
12:14sounder. So, where do we put our wires?
12:17Now, Morse originally intended to have
12:19all of the telegraph wires laid
12:21underground. And in 1843 with government
12:24funding he planned to connect Washington
12:26and Baltimore. He brought his wires to
12:28Ezra Cornell. Yes, that Cornell. And
12:31they laid it out only to find out midway
12:34through that the wire didn't work. It
12:36had like faulty insulation or something.
12:38They had wasted so much time and money,
12:41but still had a deadline to meet. So
12:43instead of restarting, Cornell was like,
12:45"Let's just string the wires overhead on
12:47trees and poles." Oh, what spaced poles.
12:51It's my bad. For the people who are
12:53concerned, the batteries aren't
12:55connected, so it's all good. This is
12:57just a bunch of metal string
12:59essentially. Now, obviously, hanging the
13:01wires overhead wasn't ideal. It's not
13:04what he wanted to do initially, but
13:06after he did it, a funny thing happened.
13:09People got really hyped up by the
13:12visibility of these wires because it
13:14meant something special. It meant that
13:16their communities were important enough
13:18to be a part of this network. And
13:20everybody would know that because these
13:22poles were unavoidable to look at. And
13:26so after he initially laid these wires
13:28overhead and people got into it, it
13:31became the norm. It's how the telegraph
13:33network continued to spread over time
13:35and eventually when phones came around,
13:37they followed the same route. Anyway,
13:39these overhead lines needed clearings to
13:41pass between cities. Fortunately,
13:44Morse's telegraph network wasn't the
13:46only attempt at connecting the country
13:47at the time. The transcontinental
13:50railroad and the Irish and Chinese
13:51immigrants who built it had cleared
13:53paths between every major hub in the
13:55country. And since railway operators
13:58wanted a more efficient way to
13:59communicate with various stations and
14:01coordinate trains,
14:04choo choo, the telegraph network
14:07expanded alongside the transcontinental
14:10railway. I have so many trains in my
14:12butt. That's not a good line to say for
14:15the internet.
14:17With the subsequent popularity of the
14:19telegraph, in 1858, the network expanded
14:22one step further across the Atlantic
14:24Ocean, connecting Queen Victoria with
14:26President James Buchanan. This cut the
14:29communication time from 12 days in just
14:31one way to under 24 hours. Now, that's
14:35not because it took hours for a message
14:37to travel across the wires. The messages
14:39were like super garbled, so they kept
14:41needing to repeat themselves. It's It's
14:43the same vibe as making a call from an
14:46elevator, which isn't great, but it's
14:49way better than sending a messenger on a
14:51boat and carriage. Want to help me
14:52illustrate the difference, Melissa?
14:56Okay, I need you to set a timer because
14:58we are going to try out the old school
14:59method by just physically sending you
15:01some notes. Ready? You got a timer? You
15:04You're going to tell me when to go.
15:06Go. Where is my notebook?
15:09Okay, there it is.
15:11Um, what message do I send? Just going
15:15to say something simple, basic. There we
15:18go. Let's fold it up for delivery.
15:24There's no clear path. There's so many
15:25things.
15:30Yeah, that's part of receiving a
15:31message.
15:38Hi.
15:39Hi. How much time?
15:4134.61 seconds.
15:43That's a time to beat. Let's move on to
15:45step five.
15:47Sending a message. Our electric
15:49telegraph communicates using Morse code.
15:51But interestingly, Morse didn't actually
15:53make it. It was Alfred Vale. Uh, let me
15:56show you how it works. Basically, he
15:58assigned the complexity of the signal
16:00based on how often the letter was used
16:02in the English language. The more
16:03common, the simpler the code. So you'll
16:05see here that the letter E is just a
16:07single dot and the letter T is a single
16:10dash. You can actually see how the
16:12alphabet branches out in this graph
16:14right here. So in this case, if I want
16:16to send that same message to Melissa
16:17that I wrote down, if I want to say hi,
16:19I would need four dots followed by two
16:22dots. Or if you remember how our sounder
16:24works, that would be click clack click
16:26clack click clack click clack, a little
16:28pause, and then click clack click clack.
16:32Got it?
16:33Got it. All right, because you're going
16:35to need to keep an ear out for that
16:37since that's the message I'm going to
16:39send to you and we're going to compare
16:40it to our physical letter timing. Okay,
16:43so we're going to plug it in. It's the
16:46moment of truth.
16:49I'm just worried it isn't going to work.
16:52Okay, ready? Set the timer. I think I
16:55feel ready for this.
16:56Okay, ready? Go.
17:01[Music]
17:08That's the telegraph remade.
17:11[Music]
17:14[Applause]
17:19[Music]
17:24While working on this, I found myself
17:27constantly wondering, why didn't someone
17:30make the telegraph sooner? Not to say
17:32that the science underlying all of this
17:34was obvious. It wasn't. I still need to
17:36stop myself from calling
17:37electromagnetism magic. But it's just
17:40bizarre for me to imagine being okay
17:42with needing to physically send a
17:44message, wait for it to get where it's
17:46going, and then wait again for the
17:49response to come back in a few weeks,
17:51maybe. And I think my confusion, one
17:54shows my age. I'm certain some of y'all
17:56watching this still remember sending
17:58physical mail and using stamps. But more
18:00importantly, it emphasizes how literally
18:03every facet of our world is impacted by
18:06the legacy of the telegraph. Because it
18:09wasn't just messages between
18:10politicians. It was businesses improving
18:12their supply chain logistics because
18:14they didn't need to predict as far in
18:16advance. So stores had more of what
18:18people were looking for. It was train
18:20conductors working under safer
18:21conditions because they could know where
18:23other trains were and if there was
18:25damage to the tracks. It was banks
18:27operating nationwide. militaries
18:30coordinating with greater precision and
18:32empires tightening their grip. That is
18:36to say that the telegraph extended
18:37figuratively, if not literally, to all
18:40corners of our lives, the good and the
18:43bad. And it shows us just how much more
18:45the world could be if we could just
18:47reach out to one another that little bit
18:49faster with landlines and faster with
18:51cell phones and faster with the internet
18:54until we're where we are today. In a
18:57world where physically communicating was
18:58barely an option for 2 years, video
19:01calls, telegraphs in their own sense
19:04were all we had. And all of that started
19:07with a single
19:09tap. I'm so glad it worked.
19:16So, I know I spent a lot of this video
19:17hyping up that clickback sound effect
19:19only to end up with this.
19:23So, we're going to get you up close and
19:24personal using this tiny little lav mic.
19:27However, before I do that, leave a
19:29comment down below with whatever iconic
19:30object you think we should make next.
19:32And you know what? You know the stick.
19:34While you're at it, hit like, share, and
19:36subscribe. But ready for this?
19:39Pull that all the way up there.
19:47Is she clicking? Is she clacking?
19:54Don't know when to stop now.
20:01Bye.

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