From Bell to Cell: The History of the Telephone
After Alexander Graham Bell successfully spoke the first words over an electric current to his assistant, Thomas Watson, in 1876, he wrote to his father about a future where “friends converse with each other without leaving home” (“The First Telephone Call”). Could he have imagined that the technology he developed would one day strip the restrictions of staying indoors, and open up a world where a friend could be on a beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while speaking to a loved one as they drive down the road in Seattle, Washington? Or, that his technology would be improved upon year after year allowing people to not only speak words through the devices, but to add the ability to text, email, play games, and even become a person’s camera? Join us as we take a journey back in time from the phone’s creation all the way through to today’s modern day cellular phone. In 1876, Bell submitted a patent for a device that would transmit not only the human voice, but coherent audible words over the wires to another person using the same style device. In 1878, Bell wrote, “It is possible to connect every man’s house, office, or factory with a central station, so as to give him direct communication with his neighbors” (“Brodsky, “Telephone & Light Patent Drawings”). The original device used was a liquid transmitter, which utilized an attached wire at the bottom of a parchment diaphragm that was perfectly adjusted to have minimal contact with water made electrically conductive by the addition of a small amount of acid. As words were spoken into the diaphragm, it would flex up and down, moving the wire and causing it to have more or less contact with the acidulated water, triggering the change in the circuit resistance. The current variations would then reproduce the original sound into a receiver allowing for a distinct intelligible message to the person on the receiving end. With this device, the transmission was one way, as the receiver could not transmit a message back to the transmitter (“How Phones Work The Basic Science Behind Telephony”). In 1877, Bell developed the first commercial telephone, which was a box with a camera like opening that served as both the transmitter and receiver, forcing the caller to have mouth to ear shifts in order to hold a conversation. The following year, Bell developed a wall set version. Though this version still required mouth to ear shifts, the hand held device that was connected to the box with a cord, was much easier to move. Later that same year, Bell designed another wall set that contained two handheld receiver/transmitters, allowing the user to hold one up to their ear and the other to their mouth, removing the confusion …show more content…
The resolution, zoom, and range were limited, but still offered users a quick way to take photos and later upload them to their computers. Phones became slimmer, lightweight, and more technologically advanced. In 2003, Nokia released a phone that you could barely hold onto in your hand. It was the Nokia 7600 and had a very awkward small shape. Apple took the world by storm in 2007, when it released its first iPhone. This phone brought many new features and technology never before seen on a cellular device. It was like carrying a personal computer in the palm of your hand.
When the first mobile phones were available in stores, “They were primarily used in the sales and business world, but not often for personal use like you see today,” says Kreg Jones, an industrial designer and Industrial Design instructor at The Art Institute of Philadelphia’ (Ray, “The History and Evolution of Cell Phones”). Eventually the large brick sized phones became smaller and smaller to the point where there were phones as small as a few inches. It is amazing how the original cell phones ended up being such a pop culture symbol. Many changes and advances have been made since the original invention of the telephone. Cell phones have gradually gotten smarter and have gone from big to small; then small too big. Companies have been racing to come out with newest features to entice consumers. Apple is now on its 6th edition of
After Alexander Graham Bell successfully spoke the first words over an electric current to his assistant, Thomas Watson, in 1876, he wrote to his father about a future where “friends converse with each other without leaving home” (“The First Telephone Call”). Could he have imagined that the technology he developed would one day strip the restrictions of staying indoors, and open up a world where a friend could be on a beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while speaking to a loved one as they drive down the road in Seattle, Washington? Or, that his technology would be improved upon year after year allowing people to not only speak words through the devices, but to add the ability to text, email, play games, and even become a person’s camera? Join us as we take a journey back in time from the phone’s creation all the way through to today’s modern day cellular phone. In 1876, Bell submitted a patent for a device that would transmit not only the human voice, but coherent audible words over the wires to another person using the same style device. In 1878, Bell wrote, “It is possible to connect every man’s house, office, or factory with a central station, so as to give him direct communication with his neighbors” (“Brodsky, “Telephone & Light Patent Drawings”). The original device used was a liquid transmitter, which utilized an attached wire at the bottom of a parchment diaphragm that was perfectly adjusted to have minimal contact with water made electrically conductive by the addition of a small amount of acid. As words were spoken into the diaphragm, it would flex up and down, moving the wire and causing it to have more or less contact with the acidulated water, triggering the change in the circuit resistance. The current variations would then reproduce the original sound into a receiver allowing for a distinct intelligible message to the person on the receiving end. With this device, the transmission was one way, as the receiver could not transmit a message back to the transmitter (“How Phones Work The Basic Science Behind Telephony”). In 1877, Bell developed the first commercial telephone, which was a box with a camera like opening that served as both the transmitter and receiver, forcing the caller to have mouth to ear shifts in order to hold a conversation. The following year, Bell developed a wall set version. Though this version still required mouth to ear shifts, the hand held device that was connected to the box with a cord, was much easier to move. Later that same year, Bell designed another wall set that contained two handheld receiver/transmitters, allowing the user to hold one up to their ear and the other to their mouth, removing the confusion …show more content…
The resolution, zoom, and range were limited, but still offered users a quick way to take photos and later upload them to their computers. Phones became slimmer, lightweight, and more technologically advanced. In 2003, Nokia released a phone that you could barely hold onto in your hand. It was the Nokia 7600 and had a very awkward small shape. Apple took the world by storm in 2007, when it released its first iPhone. This phone brought many new features and technology never before seen on a cellular device. It was like carrying a personal computer in the palm of your hand.
When the first mobile phones were available in stores, “They were primarily used in the sales and business world, but not often for personal use like you see today,” says Kreg Jones, an industrial designer and Industrial Design instructor at The Art Institute of Philadelphia’ (Ray, “The History and Evolution of Cell Phones”). Eventually the large brick sized phones became smaller and smaller to the point where there were phones as small as a few inches. It is amazing how the original cell phones ended up being such a pop culture symbol. Many changes and advances have been made since the original invention of the telephone. Cell phones have gradually gotten smarter and have gone from big to small; then small too big. Companies have been racing to come out with newest features to entice consumers. Apple is now on its 6th edition of