The world without telephone communication cannot already be presented though the history of existence of the devices capable to transfer the human speech on wires to long distances contains less than one and a half hundred years. As well as many other things, phone it was invented as a result of accident.
Instruction
1. Long time Alexander Bell who in 1886 submitted the application for "the device transmitting the speech through electric waves" to Patent office was considered as the inventor of phone. Bell was a teacher of physiology of the speech in Boston, and in 1875 together with the assistant Thomas Watson tried to create so-called harmonious telegraph – the device capable to transfer at once several cable messages on one line. It was quite relevant idea as cable lines at that time began to test a serious overload.
2. The idea of the device consisted in simultaneous transfer of several signals at various frequencies, however during experiments welded one of thin metal plates on contact. Thomas Watson tried to eliminate malfunction, quietly swearing to himself under a nose, and Alexander Bell was in the neighboring room at the similar device. Suddenly he heard Watson's mutter which came on wires.
3. It turned out that that plate began to play a role of the membrane reacting to a voice sound. Under it there was a magnet, and fluctuations of a membrane affected a magnetic flux therefore current in the line changed in beat fluctuations. On other end of the line there was a boomerang effect, and Bell heard a voice of the assistant.
4. Within a year he worked on improvement of the telephone set and in 1986 showed it at an exhibition. Strictly speaking, the principle of operation of phone did not change since then: sensitive membranes still will transform the human speech to impulses which are transferred on wires, and on other end the loudspeaker turns them back into sounds.
5. Only in 2002 the U. S. Congress recognized that the true inventor of phone should be considered the Italian emigrant Antonio Meucci who in 1860 published in the press a note about the invention of the device which is capable to transfer the speech on wires. He submitted the patent application of the invention in 1871, that is for 5 years Bella earlier, however because of confusion with documents and the conflict with the Western Union company could assert the right for the invention of the device only in 1887 when patent term already expired.
6. Moreover, the USA recognizes that too borrowed the main idea of Bell as his works were conducted under the patronage of Western Union. However in 1889 Meucci died, and in 1893 – patent term Aleksandra Bella expired therefore further examinations had only historical value.