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Introduction
According to Farley (2), a telephone is any gadget that can transmit sound over long distances by producing sound through electricity and conveying the sound of the voice. There must be both receiving and transmitting devices, which are linked to one another by the use of a wire or line that passes over the electric current. The invention of this device came about following particular needs within society, in particular the rising level of industrialization, which called for the need for superior communication devices. Alexander Graham Bell worked on the development of the telephone, using ideas that were developed from the telegraph. The invention of the telegraph has facilitated voice communication over long distances and this was not possible before its invention.
The development of the telephone
Alexander Graham Bell concentrated on improving the telegraph set up by Samuel Morse. The problem with the telegraph was that it needed operators to carry out the interpretation of the messages that were coded and passed over a wire. More so, it was only possible to pass over a single message each time. The search for a solution generated much competition among those working on the telegraph, including Bell, together with other individuals such as Thomas Edison, among others. Each of them strived to come up with a telegraph that would facilitate sending more than one message at the same time over one wire.
In 1874, Bell took his proposal for his vocal telegraph to the Boston electrical shop of Thomas Watson, who later became his assistant. Most of their efforts to achieve the objective in the course of that winter failed, but at some point, Bell came up with the idea that the telegraph could be used for speech. He developed a system that would make current electricity fluctuate in intensity (just the same way that air density is varied to bring about sound production), in order to realize the transmission of verbal communication graphically. This was the starting point of the idea of the telephone (Anon 34).
In Watson’s electrical shop, a receiving room, as well as a transmitting room, had been set up. At some point in time, an accident occurred that brought about what Bell was seeking. Watson plucked at the spring of the transmitter which had just stopped vibrating. In trying to do this (to set a reed free that was firmly held to the pole of its electromagnet), he produced a “twang” that was transmitted to the other room. This came about as a result of what is known as a liquid transmitter (the battery acid) that would give out the required current for the transmission of the actual words. A day after this accidental incident, they set up a simple telephone machine and strung the telephone wire, the first ever to be set up in the world. In 1876, Bell filed the patent for his invention just some two hours before Elisha Gray (Anon 36).
Social elements affected by the rise of the telephone
Initially, the telephone was thought to be most suited for industry, but people soon thought of using the telephone for personal communication. With the rise of industrialization, there was a need for improvements in communication technology in order to achieve a more efficient running of industry.
The telephone ushered an insignificant impact in both homes and offices. As the telephone facilitated the exchange of ideas, based on private matters, at the same time this telephone facilitated the process of industrialization by making it possible to run huge corporations more efficiently. With the telephone, efficient internal communication became possible within large corporations where employees were spread over various distant lands. The telephone served such corporations as an organizer because it provided an opportunity not only for the exchange of information but also for modern structures, such as movie studios, manufacturers, suppliers, and the stock market, to develop.
With corporations flourishing and expanding, it is clear to see how factories soon multiplied within society. Just as it is always the case in life when a particular trend gains momentum, the increase in the number of factories caused society to progress towards greater industrialization and to move away from agriculture.
More so, the telephone brought about a political revolution. The great European powers of Britain, Holland, and Germany, among others, ruled overseas colonies in Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere, partly because the use of the telephone enabled instant communication around the globe, facilitating communication between leaders in the colonies and their respective leaders in Europe.
Reasons why the telephone was delayed in reaching people’s homes
According to Anon (74), the telephone was initially intended for business activities. The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, strongly emphasized that the telephone was to be used purely for official and more serious purposes, an opinion he was not easily going to abandon. Early users of the telephone, such as businessmen and doctors among others, worked in offices, but the telephone did not reach private homes as quickly. Telephone service was quite costly in that period, a time when most people were low-paid. Only quite rich families possessed a phone in their offices and also in their private homes (Fischer 147).
In summary, initially, the telephone could be seen as a device of communication that could be employed for personal use. It was intended to be installed in the offices for official use. It took time for people to realize that the telephone could as well be used for personal purposes and therefore could be installed even in homes. Furthermore, the telephone was quite expensive and only a few people could afford it and therefore the capacity to have the telephone in the homes was quite limited by the availability of finances. It was at the point where people had to convince the manufacturer of the telephone that it could be as well be used for personal purposes when it started reaching the homes. More so, it was also at the point when the cost of the telephone going down at which the telephone started reaching in most of the homes.
Conclusion
The invention of the telephone has had a great impact on society. Originally used by business people, the telephone later gradually spread to other consumers as costs dropped and popularity increased. The telephone has played a major role in the expansion of business, in the efficient administration of government, and in closer communication among friends and loved ones. Just the same way as the telegraph did, the telephone has made it possible to share information across the whole world.
References
Anon. “Talking wires: The development of the telephone.” Museum of American Heritage. 1996. Web.
Farley, Tom. “Telephone history.” Compass Technologies, LLC. 1996. Web.
Fischer, Claude, S. The telephone takes command. In Communication in history: Technology, culture, society, 5th ed., edited by David Crowley and Paul Heyer, 143–49. Boston: Pearson A and B. 2007. Print.
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