Early Radio And Crystal Radio History - Invention

History tell us that Italian inventor Marchese Guglielmo Marconi was the inventor of the radio. Using devices he designed, the first radio broadcasts took place in 1895 and 1896. These early radio transmissions had a range of only one mile, and consisted of telegraph transmissions. He soon improved the apparatus to send and receive over much longer distances. By 1901 he was able to send and receive Transatlantic telegraphic messages. The first use of this new technology was by the Italian and British navies, as ship to ship and ship to shore communications. By 1902 radio communication across the Atlantic was made available for public use.

This early radio was called radio telegraphy, and consisted of Morse code signals. It was a significant advance because it allowed instant communication between two distant points on the earth's surface for the first time. It's entertainment value was limited, however, because of it's limitation to telegraph signals. Voice radio transmission, or radio telephony, was a more complex problem.

Many people contributed to solving this puzzle, each one placing a piece in position. German physicist Heinrich Rudolph Hertz contributed work with condensers producing microwaves in 1901. The detection of the ionosphere by American Arthur Edwin Kenelly and British Oliver Heaviside in 1901 had important implications for the long range transmission of radio waves over the earth's surface. The ionosphere, a part of the earth's outer atmosphere, reflects radio waves back to the earth's surface when their tendency is to shoot straight up toward's outer space. John Ambrose Fleming built on Thomas Edison's incandescent lamp by developing the Fleming Tube. This tube was indispensable in the development of radio telephony.

These men and many, many others played a part in the development of radio, each building on the work of others who came before. By 1915 the technology had advanced far enough to establish voice communication between Virginia and Hawaii, and Virginia and Paris, France.

In 1912, it was discovered that crystals could be used to detect radio transmissions. This discovery paved the way for the popular crystal radio sets built and used by many in the 1920's. Simple and cheap to build, the crystal sets helped popularize radio, and introduced many to it's rich entertainment. Battery radios were also introduced in the 1920's. These radios needed frequent battery changes, or recharging. By the 1930's, better radios using household current were introduced. Some of these radios were housed in handsome cabinets that are still prized by collectors today.

In these early days of radio, it was an important link to the world for many isolated communities . Popular radio shows like Buck Rogers, Amos and Andy, and Fibber McGee and Molly became standards of American entertainment as whole families gathered around the radio for an evening of entertainment. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first major American politician to effectively use radio with his "Fireside Chats" during the Depression in the 1930's.

Although television has largely taken the place of radio as the primary family entertainment medium, radio is still important. Radio provides us with a vast selection of music, news, sports, and talk formats from which to choose. Radio and electronics are an important part of our daily lives. TrainTown's Science Department can help you learn about this vital part of our lives. Build a crystal radio set, a fish caller, an intercom set, or a space war gun. Experiment with fiber optics, solar cells and motors, and a super circuit kit. Learn to solder, or build an electric motor.

In short - have fun with science!