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SOS



I wondered what SOS stands for and found some interesting information.

"Beginning in 1836, the American artist Samuel F. B. Morse, the American physicist Joseph Henry, and Alfred Vail developed an electrical telegraph system. This system sent pulses of electric current along wires which controlled an electromagnet that was located at the receiving end of the telegraph system. A code was needed to transmit natural language using only these pulses, and the silence between them. Morse therefore developed the forerunner to modern International Morse code."
~Wikipedia

"At the second Berlin Radiotelegraphic Conference 1906, the subject of a danger signal was again addressed. Considerable discussion ensued and finally SOS was adopted. The thinking was that three dots, three dashes and three dots could not be misinterpreted.  It was to be sent together as one string."
~http://www.boatsafe.com/



Wireless Telegraphy

 Around the turn of the 20th century Guglielmo Marconi, developed the first apparatus for long distance radio communication.
He is often credited as the inventor of radio,[2] and he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy"





Comments

  1. The Morse Code, how clever was that.
    Like the ABBA song..

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  2. We learned the history of SOS in school when I was a child. Many people also said it was an acronym for Save Our Ship.

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    Replies
    1. I think there's an SOS brand of steel wool scouring pads.

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    2. Mom used those SOS pads exclusively. They were cheaper than the rest.

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  3. I read once it was an acronym for Save Our Souls.

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    Replies
    1. I guess that would give it a religious slant.

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    2. I guess that would give it a religious slant.

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  4. Hi John, I learned some interesting information on SOS here. I was told it is Save Our Souls. I find your blog interesting and I am now your newest follower of your blog. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete

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