The Telegraph (from the Greek tele τηλε away and γραφειν graphein, writing) is a system designed to transmit messages from one point to another over large distances, the using codes for the prompt and reliable.
Tour de Chappe telegraph
During the French Revolution, Claude Chappe (1763-1805), Lyon engineer, invented, devised and managed to impose on the French government's revolutionary system semaphore signaling, particularly through the support of Joseph Lakanal: Tower Chappe.
The Chappe brothers realized March 3, 1791 initial public experience of air telegraph Brûlon to park over a distance of 14 km.
The Telegraph air were adopted July 26, 1793 by the National Convention.
July 16, 1794 The first official line Paris-Lille was commissioned.
In recent years, 5000 km network and nearly 533 stations were established, covering a significant part of French territory.
The success of the optical telegraph faded and Bonaparte in 1800 reduced the appropriations Alou construction and maintenance. Claude Chappe does not support this disallowance and despair threw herself into a well in 1805 at the age of 42 years. The brothers continued the development of optical telegraph until 1830, when it was finally adopted.
Failure Telegraph Chappe is that it does not work at night and in foggy weather.
This defect has been of considerable importance in the history of France:
Upon return of Napoleon during the Hundred Days, it landed March 1, 1815 with 1200 men in Golfe Juan, but Paris, then under the reign of Louis XVIII, not learned it by telegraph of Chappe than March 5, 1815, due to fog.
Thus, Napoleon was not intercepted (unsuccessfully) that just before Lake LAFFREY Grenoble, March 7, 1815.
The Chappe telegraph was subsequently replaced by the electric telegraph.
Up Now, sites Chappe telegraph, because of their locations are highly sought to install radio communications relay, and even considered a type of optical telecommunications very different: the laser links.
The first telegraph was light and totally manual. The first uses of the telegraph Chappe were dedicated to military communication. The messages could be transmitted over long distances through relay spaced about ten kilometers and located on high ground.
principle:
The telegraph Chappe brothers is a mechanical device to 5 meters high consisting of:
- two wings or indicators of 2 meters long and 30 cm wide.
- a counterweight for balancing the assembly.
- a manipulator in order to move the wings.
- The operator changed the position of the wings to transmit a message according to an established code.
- This message is visible from afar was observed using a telescope.
These towers were equipped with a system of articulated arm operated manually by an operator via a pulley system. The operator monitored through two lunettes in the opposite way round the previous and next. Thus, he observed signals from the previous relay and retransmitted to the next. In the early days, two people operating the telegraph. Rapidly, due to budgetary restrictions, only one operator was responsible for overseeing the two glasses of turn over. This required constant observation.
Telegraph Mont Saint-Michel
This system allowed to transmit messages much faster than the mail on horseback, it linked Paris to Marseille, or Brest, for example in a few hours using a code composed of hundreds of words and phrases that accelerates the transmission and guaranteed some privacy. It should nevertheless allow 20 minutes for a code to be relayed from Paris to Brest. Assuming 40 seconds between each word or phrase, a message 10 words took an hour to make the trip, and this not counting the possibility of paralysis short drive (a relay continued to repeat the sign until it was passed, forcing all the string to repeat the same signal as the relay was not done.)
The code was submitted as follows:
The vertical position indicated the no message for
warned diagonal position a message was coming and was a neutral position between two messages.
A first code indicating the page of a book dedicated
Following a diagonal position of the arms ...
A second code indicating the line of the page.
Only the transmitter and receiver (at the beginning and end of the relay) had a copy of the book. This allowed to send messages confidentially.
Signal List
The big drawbacks of the system were that it could not work night or Low visibility, and it mobilized thousands of operators (one every 15 kilometers).
Chronology:
- The 2 and 3 March 1791, experience with an optical telegraph system clocks synchronized optical panel and a white and black and between Brûlon Park.
- In June 1791, Claude Chappe moved to Paris and create new experiences Menilmontant.
- In April 1793, the word telegraph made its appearance thanks to André-François Miot de Melito.
- April 1, 1793, Representative Charles-Gilbert Romme pleads the cause of the Chappe telegraph before the National Convention.
- July 12, 1793, the first test of 26 km between Ménilmontant Écouen and Saint-Martin-du-Tertre (Val-d'Oise).
- July 25, 1793, Claude Chappe telegraph engineer is appointed by decree.
- August 4, 1793, the Committee directs the public hello implementation of the Paris-Lille under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.
- April 30, 1794, the first test of the Paris-Lille.
- August 30, 1794, the first dispatch announcing the capture of Condé-sur-Escaut "Condé returned to being a republic, surrendered this morning 6:00.
- On October 3, 1974, decision to build the Paris-Landau.
- In April 1795, extending the line north to Brussels.
- In August 1798, commissioning of the Paris-Brest.
- In July 1801, between test nights Menilmontant and Saint-Martin-du-Tertre without relay.
- In 1805, creation of the Paris and Turin.
- In 1810, the line goes north to Amsterdam and the line south to Venice.
- May 3, 1837 Monopoly Law of communication in France.
- In 1844, 534 towers crisscross the French territory connecting more than 5000 km of the most important cities.
- In 1845, the first electric telegraph line was installed in France between Paris and Rouen, ringing the bell towers Chappe.
- In 1855, abandoning the last line of telegraph air.