Post by Ymbert Montgomery on Jan 14, 2020 13:07:13 GMT
A NEW SCIENCE OF TELEGRAPHY
Esteemed Members of the Royal Academy of Science.
As a longstanding student of military history I have always been fascinated by the means by which military orders have been carried over large distances. It is believed that Darius, the King of Persia, was the first to institute a horse-born system along the roads his empire, establishing post houses along them to provide changes of fresh mounts so that messages could be carried by utmost speed. This system is still in use today but, on average, messages cannot be trasported more that seventy five miles each day.
The use of mirrors by which sunlight is reflected in flashes was another innovation of Ancient Times, though the complexity of the messages was limited.
It was the Romans, of course, who put signal lines on a more formal basis. Roman signal stations were rectangular towers of stone or wood situated within ditched, embanked, palisaded or walled enclosures. They were built by the Roman army for military observation and signalling by means of fire or smoke. They normally formed an element of a wider system of defence and signalling between military sites such as forts and camps and towns, generally as part of a chain of stations to cover long distances. No Roman code books have come down to us, but it seems that their signal stations were somewhat more sophisticated than the chains of beacons in use to today. Although these are useful for warning of danger from a particular direction, they cannot tell us the nature of the danger or from whence on the beacon line it emanates.
Thanks to the invention of the telescope by Hans Lippershey in 1608, greatly improved by Galileo in 1609, we have a tremendous advantage over our Roman forebears. Messire Galileo's telescopes can make objects seem 20 times nearer than they actually are, meaning that modern 'signal stations' could be placed up to 6 miles away from each other and their signals still clearly read.
And what form should these modern day signal stations take?
I have designed a windmill like structure having, instead of sails, two long, jointed arms (one at each side) and a central beam on the roof. The two arms could each rotate into seven separate positions, creating 49 combinations, while the central beam could be vertical or horizontal - making 98 combinations in all. Six of these positions could be used to represent service messages - "ready to transmit", "taking a break" and so on. The remaining 92 would correspond to 92 pages of a code book or vocabulaire each of which would contain 92 different words. This would provide a vocabulary of 8,464 words or phrases, each one of which could be transmitted with just two position shifts of the apparatus.
Each of these stations would be equipped with two telecopes, trained on the station to each side of it along the line of communications. I calculate that 534 stations would cover the 3,100 miles from Paris to all the frontier provinces. Using this 'telegraph' (from the Greek for 'far writing') system, messages which would take three to four days to reach the frontiers by horseback could be transmitted in a mere 3 to 4 hours. I need hardly point out, gentlemen, that this could be difference between losing a battle or having sufficient time to redeploy troops to win it.
The most important use for such a telegraph system would of course be military but, once it was in place it would be idle for much of the time. Although military communications must always have priorty I strongly suspect that other organisations would seek to use the service - and pay hefty fees for the privilege. The Church and various departments of His Majesty's Government often have to send messages over large distances and, in many circumstances, would prefer to send and receive these as quickly as possible. Similarly, there would be great advantages for a Paris company finding out details of ship arrivals - or losses - days before their competitors. So great, indeed, that their rivals would also have to use the telegraph service so as not to be left behind. Thanks to the above factors I estimate the system would actually make a modest profit after its first couple of operating months.
The cost of setting up and running such a telegraph system would, in terms of the National Budget, be quite modest. Each Telegraph Station would cost approximately one fifth that of a small parisian townhouse - around 60 Crowns. To build the 540 required for complete coverage would cost 32,400 Crowns. The operation would be in the hands of the military - perhaps requiring the formation of a new Signals Brigade. If the pay scale of such a brigade were to be on a par with the 27th Musketeers, the monthly running costs (including ongoing repairs) would be in the region of 7,000 livres per month.
I have patented my telegraph station design in hopes of a modest licence fee per station should any be built. My main motivation, however, lies with the great benefits which a telegraph system, and the rapid communication it would bring, would bestow upon France. My greatest hope is that this August body will consider this new science of telegraphy of sufficient interest to bring to the attention of His Majesty and His Government Ministers.
I remain, Gentlemen of the Royal Academy, your most humble and respectful servant,
Docteur Armand Livarot
Esteemed Members of the Royal Academy of Science.
As a longstanding student of military history I have always been fascinated by the means by which military orders have been carried over large distances. It is believed that Darius, the King of Persia, was the first to institute a horse-born system along the roads his empire, establishing post houses along them to provide changes of fresh mounts so that messages could be carried by utmost speed. This system is still in use today but, on average, messages cannot be trasported more that seventy five miles each day.
The use of mirrors by which sunlight is reflected in flashes was another innovation of Ancient Times, though the complexity of the messages was limited.
It was the Romans, of course, who put signal lines on a more formal basis. Roman signal stations were rectangular towers of stone or wood situated within ditched, embanked, palisaded or walled enclosures. They were built by the Roman army for military observation and signalling by means of fire or smoke. They normally formed an element of a wider system of defence and signalling between military sites such as forts and camps and towns, generally as part of a chain of stations to cover long distances. No Roman code books have come down to us, but it seems that their signal stations were somewhat more sophisticated than the chains of beacons in use to today. Although these are useful for warning of danger from a particular direction, they cannot tell us the nature of the danger or from whence on the beacon line it emanates.
Thanks to the invention of the telescope by Hans Lippershey in 1608, greatly improved by Galileo in 1609, we have a tremendous advantage over our Roman forebears. Messire Galileo's telescopes can make objects seem 20 times nearer than they actually are, meaning that modern 'signal stations' could be placed up to 6 miles away from each other and their signals still clearly read.
And what form should these modern day signal stations take?
I have designed a windmill like structure having, instead of sails, two long, jointed arms (one at each side) and a central beam on the roof. The two arms could each rotate into seven separate positions, creating 49 combinations, while the central beam could be vertical or horizontal - making 98 combinations in all. Six of these positions could be used to represent service messages - "ready to transmit", "taking a break" and so on. The remaining 92 would correspond to 92 pages of a code book or vocabulaire each of which would contain 92 different words. This would provide a vocabulary of 8,464 words or phrases, each one of which could be transmitted with just two position shifts of the apparatus.
Each of these stations would be equipped with two telecopes, trained on the station to each side of it along the line of communications. I calculate that 534 stations would cover the 3,100 miles from Paris to all the frontier provinces. Using this 'telegraph' (from the Greek for 'far writing') system, messages which would take three to four days to reach the frontiers by horseback could be transmitted in a mere 3 to 4 hours. I need hardly point out, gentlemen, that this could be difference between losing a battle or having sufficient time to redeploy troops to win it.
The most important use for such a telegraph system would of course be military but, once it was in place it would be idle for much of the time. Although military communications must always have priorty I strongly suspect that other organisations would seek to use the service - and pay hefty fees for the privilege. The Church and various departments of His Majesty's Government often have to send messages over large distances and, in many circumstances, would prefer to send and receive these as quickly as possible. Similarly, there would be great advantages for a Paris company finding out details of ship arrivals - or losses - days before their competitors. So great, indeed, that their rivals would also have to use the telegraph service so as not to be left behind. Thanks to the above factors I estimate the system would actually make a modest profit after its first couple of operating months.
The cost of setting up and running such a telegraph system would, in terms of the National Budget, be quite modest. Each Telegraph Station would cost approximately one fifth that of a small parisian townhouse - around 60 Crowns. To build the 540 required for complete coverage would cost 32,400 Crowns. The operation would be in the hands of the military - perhaps requiring the formation of a new Signals Brigade. If the pay scale of such a brigade were to be on a par with the 27th Musketeers, the monthly running costs (including ongoing repairs) would be in the region of 7,000 livres per month.
I have patented my telegraph station design in hopes of a modest licence fee per station should any be built. My main motivation, however, lies with the great benefits which a telegraph system, and the rapid communication it would bring, would bestow upon France. My greatest hope is that this August body will consider this new science of telegraphy of sufficient interest to bring to the attention of His Majesty and His Government Ministers.
I remain, Gentlemen of the Royal Academy, your most humble and respectful servant,
Docteur Armand Livarot