Bell and the telephone-the 125th anniversary

The telephone went from ideas to practical use very quickly. The leading figure in the story was a Scotsman, Alexander Graham Bell. This article briefly outlines Bell's experiments with electrically controlled tuning forks and the fortunate accident which led to the discovery that magnetoelectric currents generated by the vibration of an armature in front of an electromagnet could be utilised to transmit signals. After refining the experimental apparatus Bell was able to transmit the sound of his voice to an assistant in another room. This achievement later stood the test of Court proceedings. The patent was upheld, and this experiment is generally accepted as the beginning the electrical transmission of articulate speech.