retroelectro
Thomson was a professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow and much more qualified to answer this question. Yet, he did not have an answer that people wanted to hear. Within weeks, Whitehouse’s report made its way to the desk of Cyrus West Field In New York City. The year before, Latimer Clark gave a report proposing that the term ‘ohm’ should be used for electrical measurements. You can read more in the Retro Electro article ‘Ohm’s Day.’ (Link: https://emedia.digikey. com/view/639112496/21/)
different telegraph stations connect their lines, eventually achieving 600 miles of cable, much of which was underground and underwater. Whitehouse and Bright studied and tested the cable to determine how fast a signal could travel in miles per second. Overhead telegraph wires were found to have a transmission speed of about sixteen thousand miles per second. In 1854, Bright’s brother, Edward Bright, reported on experiments showing that underground cable signals do not exceed one thousand miles per second, demonstrating the cable’s ability to hold a Leyden charge. This was caused by the propagation delay discussed earlier. The fact is that a commercial telegraph line spanning the Atlantic Ocean could not be profitable at that speed. Charles Bright would become the Chief Engineer of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. In later writings, Whitehouse says that Charles Bright suggested they collaborate on an Atlantic telegraph line together, with Bright himself proposing that Whitehouse take the “larger share of anything that might result from our union.” If true (it may not be), this portrayal highlights Bright’s trust in Whitehouse and willingness to grant him the leading share in any rewards, aligning with Whitehouse’s ambition and persuasive nature.
The following year, in 1855, at the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Whitehouse gave his first report, ‘Experimental Observations on an Electric Cable,’ making his introduction to the world of electrical science. Remember, while Dr. Whitehouse was brilliant, he would have been highly peculiar, esoteric, and arrogant to anyone around him. In this report, he explains how the cable could discharge much faster using large inductive coils and alternating currents. These tests were done on cables manufactured and stored in coils for installation in the Mediterranean and Newfoundland and amounted to 1,125 miles in length. He explains that current generated by a chemical battery simply cannot perform as well as currents generated by magneto-electric generators, which, according to his claims, perform three and a half times better than the former, with speeds up to six thousand miles per second. This was in considerable contrast to what Thomson and Faraday had said earlier and contradicted the law of squares. While Thomson reported that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to operate a submarine cable long enough to travel to the Americas, Whitehouse spoke of it as if it could be trivial if they did it the way that he proposes with his patented equipment.
Cyrus West Field
Cyrus West Field was an American businessman who made his fortune in the paper industry before turning his attention to the ambitious goal of connecting the continents with a cable. Born in 1819 in Massachusetts, Field worked his way up in business, eventually establishing himself
Figure 8. Cyrus West Field
Wildman to save the day
34
Powered by FlippingBook