Marconi, Tesla, and My Vacation
Just got back from a relaxing vacation on Cape Cod, where I made time for a visit to the Marconi Station at Wellfleet.
The first transatlantic wireless telegraph between the US and England was sent from Guglielmo Marconi's transmission station in 1903. The actual station is no longer there, and for that matter, neither is most of the land it sat on (erosion).
According to the model at the Wellfleet landmark, the station consisted of four 210-feet wooden towers, some wires, and a Tesla transmitter. Wait. Tesla? What about Tesla?
Well, it seems while Nikola Tesla may have been the first to patent radio technology components, Marconi was quicker at building a practical working model, securing funding, and commercializing his product at a cheaper cost. Some have even argued that Tesla's design was superior to Marconi's.
In any case, there is a long and complicated history between the two men, their technology, and their companies, but it's interesting to see how [communication] technology issues of yesterday seem to be the exact same as today:
wireless and peer-to-peer.
Oh. Wait. I mean ... well, you know what I mean.