what was the first transatlantic cable made of

Full Answer

What is a transatlantic cable?

Map of the 1858 trans-Atlantic cable route. A transatlantic telegraph cable is an undersea cable running under the Atlantic Ocean used for telegraph communications. The first was laid across the floor of the Atlantic from Telegraph Field, Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland.

Who built the first transatlantic cable across the Atlantic Ocean?

In the 1840s and 1850s several individuals proposed or advocated construction of a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean, including Edward Thornton and Alonzo Jackman. Cyrus West Field and the Atlantic Telegraph Company were behind the construction of the first transatlantic telegraph cable.

What materials are used to make transatlantic cables?

The transatlantic cables exploited a natural product, gutta percha, that seemed to have been created especially for the job. It continued to be used for electrical insulation until it was replaced by synthetic polymers, which appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century.

What was the first transatlantic cable with repeaters?

The first transatlantic cable with repeaters was TAT-1 in 1956. This was a telephone cable and used a different technology for its repeaters. A 2018 study in the American Economic Review found that the transatlantic telegraph substantially increased trade over the Atlantic and reduced prices.

Who was the first person to build a telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean?

Field later raised new funds and made new arrangements. In 1866, the British ship Great Eastern succeeded in laying the first permanent telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean. Cyrus West Field was the object of much praise on both sides of the Atlantic for his persistence in accomplishing what many thought to be an impossible undertaking. He later promoted other oceanic cables, including telegraph lines that stretched from Hawaii to Asia and Australia.

Where did the Niagara cable go?

On July 29, the Niagara and the Gorgon, with their load of cable, departed for Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, while the Agamemnon and the Valorous embarked for Valentia, Ireland. By August 5, the cable had been successfully laid, stretching nearly 2,000 miles across the Atlantic at a depth often of more than two miles.

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When was the first transatlantic cable laid?

The ship's initial attempt to lay the cable, in 1865, ended in failure. In 1866, eight years after the first transatlantic telegram, the Great Eastern successfully laid cable from Valentia, Ireland, to a port in Newfoundland, aptly named Heart's Content, thus performing a feat that had previously required two ships.

What was the Atlantic cable?

The Atlantic cable was unique only for its length . Underwater cables had been investigated since Morse began experimentation in 1852. By 1858 a large number of submarine cables were already in operation over shorter distances. Gulfs, harbors, lakes, and other sizable bodies of water were already spiderweb bed with them.

How many miles of wire is in a gutta percha cable?

A vast amount of gutta percha came to be used in cable making. A cable 2,500 nautical miles in length involved 300 tons of it, in addition to 340,000 miles of wire. In the beginning, the importation of gutta percha led to the destruction of 26 million trees per year in Borneo alone.

What is splicing cable?

Splicing was an involved operation. The cable comprised a stranded copper conductor encased in gutta percha insulation and surrounded by a braided steel cable which also acted as a shield. This in turn was protected by additional layers of insulation and shielding, the number of layers depending on the environment. Over-wrapping usually included a fiat iron ribbon that was a barrier to marine life. All of this constituted a shell that had to be opened before the conductor itself was accessible.

Why did the cable insulation break down?

During the early stages moderate voltages were used. Later, higher voltages were applied in an effort to boost signal strength and the cable insulation broke down and failed. The story of subsequent cable laying involved a ship which was the colossus of its time.

How did the submarine telegraph cable affect communication?

The submarine telegraph cable reduced communication time from days to hours. A world that had seemed infinite was reduced overnight to human proportions. In 1854, Frederic N. Gisborne, a Canadian inventor, traveled to New York to raise money for a project to link Newfoundland to the United States by telegraph.

Why did the ships refuse to give up the cable?

Each time, they had to start over. The refusal to give up the project after repeated failures is a particular tribute to Cyrus Field's tenacity.

When was the first transatlantic telephone cable made?

When the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858 by Cyrus West Field, it operated for only three weeks; subsequent attempts in 1865 and 1866 were more successful. In July 1866 the Great Eastern sailed out of Valentina and in July 26th landed at Hearts Content in Newfoundland. It was active until 1965 Although a telephone cable was discussed starting in the 1920s to be practical, it needed a number of technological advances which did not arrive until the 1940s. Starting in 1927, transatlantic telephone service was radio-based.

What is transatlantic cable?

A transatlantic telecommunications cable is a submarine communications cable connecting one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, each cable was a single wire. After mid-century, coaxial cable came into use, with amplifiers. Late in the century, all used optical fiber, and most now use optical amplifiers .

How much latency does a cable have in 2012?

This advantage only increases over time, as tighter cables provide higher bandwidth – the 2012 generation of cables drop the transatlantic latency to under 60 milliseconds, according to Hibernia Atlantic, deploying such a cable that year.

What is the name of the cable system in the South Atlantic?

Some new cables are being announced on the South Atlantic: SACS (South Atlantic Cable System) and SAex (South Atlantic Express).

Where do cable lines terminate?

Current technology. All cables presently in service use fiber optic technology. Many cables terminate in Newfoundland and Ireland, which lie on the great circle route (the shortest route) from London, UK to New York City, US. There has been a succession of newer transatlantic cable systems.

When did telephones start to be radio based?

Starting in 1927, transatlantic telephone service was radio-based.

How many channels were there in the first 24 hours of the telephony service?

It was inaugurated on September 25, 1956, initially carrying 36 telephone channels. In the first 24 hours of public service, there were 588 London–U.S. calls and 119 from London to Canada. The capacity of the cable was soon increased to 48 channels.

How did the transatlantic cable work?

The transatlantic cable reduced communication time considerably, allowing a message and a response in the same day.

When was the first cable laid?

The first cable was laid in the 1850s across the floor of the Atlantic from Valentia in western Ireland to Bay of Bulls, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. The first communications occurred August 16, 1858 but the line speed was poor and efforts to improve it caused this cable to fail after three weeks. Cyrus West Field and the Atlantic Telegraph Company ...

What was the problem with the 1858 cable?

He had no formal training in physics; all his knowledge was gained through practical experience. The two clashed even before the project began when Whitehouse disputed Thomson's law of squares when the latter presented it to a British Association meeting in 1855. Thomson's law predicted that transmission speed on the cable would be very slow due to an effect called retardation. To test the theory, Bright gave Whitehouse overnight access to the Magnetic Telegraph Company's long underground lines. Whitehouse joined several lines together to a distance similar to the transatlantic route and declared that there would be no problem. Morse was also present at this test and supported Whitehouse. Thomson believed Whitehouse's measurements were flawed and that underground and underwater cables were not fully comparable. Thomson believed a larger cable was needed to mitigate the retardation problem. In mid-1857, on his own initiative, he examined samples of copper core of alleged identical specification and found variations in resistance up to a factor of two. But cable manufacture was already underway and Whitehouse supported use of a thinner cable, so Field went with the cheaper option.

What is the transatlantic telegraph?

Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean used for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data are still carried on other transatlantic telecommunications cables.

What were the causes of the failure of the 1858 cable?

The operation of the 1858 cable was plagued by conflict between two of the senior members of the project, Thomson and Whitehouse. The points of disagreement were highly relevant to the ultimate causes of the cable failure. Whitehouse was a medical doctor by training but had taken an enthusiastic interest in the new electrical technology and had given up his medical practice to follow a new career. He had no formal training in physics; all his knowledge had been gained through practical experience. The two clashed even before the project had started when Whitehouse disputed Thomson's law of squares when he presented it to a British Association meeting in 1855. Thomson's law predicted that transmission speed on the cable would be very slow due to an effect called retardation. To put this to the test, Bright gave Whitehouse overnight access to the Magnetic Telegraph Company's long underground lines. He joined several lines together to a distance similar to the transatlantic route and declared that there would be no problem. Morse was also present at this test and supported Whitehouse. Thomson believed that Whitehouse's measurements were flawed and that underground and underwater cables were not fully comparable. Thomson believed that a larger cable was needed, which would improve the retardation problem predicted by the law of squares. In mid-1857, on his own initiative, he examined samples of copper core of alleged identical specification and found variations in resistance up to a factor of two. But the cable manufacturing was already underway and Whitehouse supported use of a thinner cable so Field went with the cheaper option.

How much does a cable weigh?

The cable consisted of seven copper wires, each weighing 26 kg/km (107 pounds per nautical mile ), covered with three coats of gutta-percha (as suggested by Jonathan Nash Hearder ), weighing 64 kg/km (261 pounds per nautical mile), and wound with tarred hemp, over which a sheath of 18 strands, each of seven iron wires, was laid in a close helix. It weighed nearly 550 kg/km (1.1 tons per nautical mile), was relatively flexible, and could withstand tension of several tens of kilonewtons (several tons).

How long did the first telegram cable last?

The cable functioned for only three weeks, but it was the first such project to yield practical results. The first official telegram to pass between two continents was a letter of congratulations from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom to President of the United States James Buchanan on August 16.

When was the first transatlantic cable built?

Engineers began building the first transatlantic cable in 1857. Later that year, it was loaded onto two boats, one loaned by the British government and the other by the American government. The vessels set sail from Ireland. For several days, the enterprise seemed to go as planned.

Why did the Transatlantic cable stop working?

A Committee of Inquiry launched an investigation in England, and Edward Whitehouse, the project’s chief electrician, received the brunt of the blame. Whitehouse’s cable design was faulty. The copper wire core of the line was too thin and he used massive induction coils to send extremely powerful electric currents in hopes that it would speed message transmission. Other experts had questioned his approach, but Whitehouse ignored them. The strength of the currents Whitehouse used was ultimately blamed for overburdening the cable and causing a breakdown of its insulation (primarily consisting of layers of gutta-percha).

What cable did the Cable Cabinet lay?

Before trying to lay the transatlantic cable , the Cable Cabinet undertook the laying of a cable across the Cabot Strait. They needed this cable to connect Newfoundland to Cape Breton and then to link that location to the rest of Canada and the United States. Although the cabinet expected this step to be much easier than extending a line across the Atlantic, it proved extremely difficult. By the time they had installed a working cable across the strait, the cabinet had spent almost all the money raised for the entire endeavor. They had to find more funding.

What did Field know about the telegraph?

Field knew little about the telegraph. But after meeting with owners of the Newfoundland Telegraph Company in 1854, he determined there was a lot of money to be made from a transatlantic cable. He realized the project would be difficult and expensive, but optimistically believed it could be done.

How did the telegraph work in the 1850s?

In the mid 1850s, telegraph cables stretched across much of the United States and England, allowing people within those countries to quickly communicate with one another. If someone wanted to send a message from one of these countries to the other, however, they had to do so the old-fashioned way — by boat, a process that usually took about two ...

Who was the first person to design the Transatlantic Telegraph?

Over the line, politicians, businessmen and others who could afford the initially expensive service could send short messages in a matter of seconds. Much of the credit for the eventual success of the great project was owed to design improvements made by William Thomson, who subsequently became better known as Lord Kelvin. The British government gave Thomson his title in honor of his contributions to the transatlantic telegraph cable.

Who sent the first message across the cable to President Buchanan?

Cyrus Field’s dream was finally realized and the news of the transatlantic line was greeted enthusiastically on both sides of the ocean. Queen Victoria sent the first public message across the cable to President Buchanan.

When was the first transatlantic cable invented?

The idea of a transatlantic communications cable was first floated in 1839, following the introduction of the working telegraph by Wiliam Cooke and Charles Wheatstone. Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse code, threw his weight behind it in 1840, and by 1850, a link had been laid between Britain and France. The same year, construction began on ...

When was the first cable laid across the Atlantic?

We try and maintain a laserlike focus on the future at Wired, but sometimes it's worth taking a look back at the innovations of the past. On August 16, 1858, the first message was sent across the Atlantic by telegraph cable, reading "Glory to God in the highest; on earth, ...

How are breaks found in cable?

The cable is still covered with helical steel wires to protect the central core, and breaks are found by testing the resistance of the metal inside to determine the length before there's a break .". The major difference is the capacity.

What did Buchanan say about the Atlantic Telegraph?

Buchanan shot back a rather more flowery response which said that "it is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field of battle. May the Atlantic telegraph, under the blessing of heaven, prove to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world".

When was the first cable made?

In 1857, the first attempt was made. A cable consisting of seven copper wires was manufactured by a pair of English companies --. Glass Elliot & Co from Greenwich, and R.S.Newall & Co from Liverpool. The cable's protective qualities were important -- it was covered with a latex made from gutta-percha, which was thought to be resilient ...

Who was the first person to work on transatlantic cable?

So next time you're reading our US colleagues' website over a transatlantic fibreoptic cable, remember the steadfast work of Frederick Gisborne and Cyrus Field back in 1858, in a pair of boats in the middle of the Atlantic.

Can copper be recovered from a cable?

There have been some moves to recover the copper from the cables, which is valuable, but in many cases they can be a nuisance to modern cable engineers. "We'll be trying to repair a cable," said Kincey, "and we'll pull up the wrong one."

What was the first transatlantic cable?

On 16 August 1858, Queen Victoria and U.S. president James Buchanan exchanged telegraphic pleasantries, inaugurating the first transatlantic cable connecting British North America to Ireland. It wasn’t exactly instant messaging: The queen’s 98-word greeting of goodwill took almost 16 hours to send through the 3,200-kilometer cable. Still, compared to packet steamships, which could take 10 days to cross the Atlantic, the cable promised a tremendous improvement in speed for urgent communications.

What was the first section of cable laid?

On 5 August 1857, the expedition got under way. The first portion of cable to be laid was known as the shore cable: heavily reinforced line to guard against strains of waves, currents, rocks, and anchors. But less than 5 miles out, the shore cable got caught in the machinery and broke. The fleet returned to port.

How much does a Gutta Percha cable weigh?

The core consisted of seven strands of copper wire twisted together to make a wire 0.083 inch in diameter. The finished core weighed 107 pounds per nautical mile, which was significantly lighter than the 392 pounds per nautical mile that Thomson and Bright had proposed. The copper core was wrapped in three layers of gutta-percha, a latex that comes from trees of the same name. The insulated core was then covered in tarred hemp and wrapped with iron wire. The finished cable was about five-eighths of an inch in diameter.

Why did Bright argue for splicing the cable in midocean and then having each ship head in opposite?

Whitehouse and the other electricians preferred to begin laying the cable in Ireland and splicing in the second half once the first half had been laid. This plan would allow continuous contact with the shore and ongoing testing of the cable’s signal. Bright’s plan had the advantage of halving the time to lay the cable, thus lessening the chance of encountering foul weather .

What was the purpose of the cable on the HMS Agamemnon?

This Mortal Coil: Cable on the HMS Agamemnon was used to lay the first transatlantic telegraph line, which began operating in 1858. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Why should the conductor of a submarine cable be as narrow as possible?

Morse and British physicist Michael Faraday believed that the conducting wire of a submarine cable should be as narrow as possible, to limit retardation of the signal. And the wider the wire, the more electricity would be needed to charge it. Edward Orange Wildman Whitehouse, an electrician for the Atlantic Telegraph Company, subscribed to this view.

How did Willing Mind retrieve the broken shore cable?

Willing Mind ran a thick rope to retrieve the broken shore cable, and crew members spliced it back to the shore cable on the Niagara. The fleet set out again. When they reached the end of the shore cable, the crews spliced it to the ocean cable and slowly lowered it to the ocean floor.

How long did it take to build the transatlantic cable?

The quest to establish a transatlantic telegraphic link took twelve years and five attempts at laying the cable, demanding the confidence and expertise of countless financiers, electrical engineers, scientists, and sailors. Cyrus Field, who had made enough money in the paper trade to allow him to retire at age thirty-five, decided to back the laying of the transatlantic cable in 1854. He talked to Matthew Maury, a leading oceanographer, to find out if laying a telegraph cable on the ocean floor between Newfoundland and Ireland was possible, and then to Samuel Morse to ask if, once in place, such a cable would work. After being assured that the project was indeed feasible, Field was ready to seek financial backers.

When was the first transatlantic cable landed?

A permanent electrical communications link between the old world and the new was initiated at this site with the landing of a transatlantic cable on July 27, 1866. This achievement altered for all time personal, commercial, and political relations between peoples on the two sides of the ocean. Five more cables between Heart's Content and Valentia, Ireland were completed between 1866 and 1894. This station continued in operation until 1965.

What ship was the first to leave Valentia Bay?

Then, on 5 August 1857, the American steam frigate Niagara and the Royal Navy's steamer Agamemnon left Valentia Bay, Ireland, each with half-an- ocean's length of cable in her hold. After laying about four hundred miles of cable, however, the line snapped and could not be recovered from the ocean floor.

How many miles of cable was laid when it broke?

This time, only one hundred and sixty miles of the cable had been laid when it broke. Field pushed to try again immediately. The two ships met in mid-ocean on 29 July, spliced the cable, and steamed off in opposite directions, laying the cable as they went.

When did the Transatlantic Cable reach Newfoundland?

Both reached their respective ports in Newfoundland and Ireland on 5 August 1858; transatlantic communication by telegraph was a reality. The glory was short-lived, however. The cable was dead by 18 September. This was the worst set back in the troubled story of the transatlantic cable.

How big was Brunel's Great Eastern?

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern had captured the popular imagination. She was by far the largest ship afloat, measuring 693 feet in length and 120 feet in width. She could carry a load of 18,000 tons in her double hull and her coal bunkers could hold enough fuel to take her from England to Australia and back.

Where were the first submarine cables laid?

Their first step was to lay submarine cables between Cape Ray, Newfoundland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and then between Cape Breton Island and the Nova Scotia mainland. Through a combination of submarine cables and overland lines, St. John's, Newfoundland, and New York City were connected in 1855.

Overview

• Gutta percha, a material essentially unknown today, made the cable possible. It has properties somewhat similar to India rubber, but unlike rubber, which deteriorates after immersion in seawater, this material thrives in that environment. It has another unique property. When heated to a moderate temperature it remains plastic for some time and can ...

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Early history

A plan takes shape

First transatlantic cable

First contact

Failure of the first cable

Preparing a new attempt

Great Eastern and the second cable