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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
26
In
1843
Wheatstone
communicated
an
important
paper
to
the
Royal
Society,
entitled
'An
Account
of
Several
New
Processes
for
Determining
the
Constants
of
a
Voltaic
Circuit.'
It
contained
an
exposition
of
the
well-known
balance
for
measuring
the
electrical
resistance
of
a
conductor,
which
still
goes
by
the
name
of
Wheatstone's
Bridge
or
balance,
although
it
was
first
devised
by
Mr.
S.
W.
Christie,
of
the
Royal
Military
Academy,
Woolwich,
who
published
it
in
the
PHILOSOPHICAL
TRANSACTIONS
for
1833.
The
method
was
neglected
until
Wheatstone
brought
it
into
notice.
His
paper
abounds
with
simple
and
practical
formula:
for
the
calculation
of
currents
and
resistances
by
the
law
of
Ohm.
He
introduced
a
unit
of
resistance,
namely,
a
foot
of
copper
wire
weighing
one
hundred
grains,
and
showed
how
it
might
be
applied
to
measure
the
length
of
wire
by
its
resistance.
He
was
awarded
a
medal
for
his
paper
by
the
Society.
The
same
year
he
invented
an
apparatus
which
enabled
the
reading
of
a
thermometer
or
a
barometer
to
be
registered
at
a
distance
by
means
of
an
electric
contact
made
by
the
mercury.
A
sound
telegraph,
in
which
the
signals
were
given
by
the
strokes
of
a
bell,
was
also
patented
by
Cooke
and
Wheatstone
in
May
of
that
year.
The
introduction
of
the
telegraph
had
so
far
advanced
that,
on
September
2,
1845,
the
Electric
Telegraph
Company
was
registered,
and
Wheatstone,
by
his
deed
of
partnership
with
Cooke,
received
a
sum
of
L33,000
for
the
use
of
their
joint
inventions.
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