How it all began - Geoffrey G. Gouriet's 1972 Christmas Lectures 1/6

Geoffrey G. Gouriet discusses how radio communication began in the first of his 1972 Christmas Lecture series titled 'Ripples in the Ether: The Science of Radio Communication'. Watch all the lectures in this series here:    • Geoffrey G. Gouriet's 1972 CHRISTMAS LECTU...   Watch our newest Christmas lectures here:    • Royal Institution Christmas Lectures   This was recorded on 22 December 1972. -- As our growing civilization became more complicated there was an increasing need to communicate rapidly over long distances. One of the earliest practical applications of the principle of electromagetism discovered by Michael Faraday was telegraphy used first to send messages to and from railway signal boxes. Simple codes enabled the magnetic deflection of pointers to spell out words. It was electro-mechanical devices that would print letters on a moving strip of paper that were the forerunners of our modern teleprinters. Soon telegraph wires and submarine cables linked countries and continents. Nowadays we can make an electric signal follow, and reproduce at a distance, variations of almost anything we wish. It can reproduce the varying pressure of a sound wave or the variations of brightness in a scene - and even the variations of colour. By these means we are able to get rid of codes and communicate directly with our senses. -- About the 1972 CHRISTMAS LECTURES In his 1972 CHRISTMAS LECTURES, Geoffrey G Gouriet explores the past, present and future of radio communications, and the science that lies behind it. Radio waves are all around us, continuously being produced and received through man-made devices enabling us to connect with each other and communicate information. Geoffrey Gouriet, through the course of six Lectures, takes us on a journey through history from the first telephone to the 'Viewphone' and with the aid of exciting demonstrations, he explains how devices in our house like the TV translate broadcasted signals into moving pictures. Gouriet begins with an introduction to electromagnetic waves and the principle behind it as well as how electricity can be used to transmit information. We then learn how we can get rid of the wires and transmit information through the 'ether' using radio waves and utilizing the layers of the Earth's atmosphere to reach distant locations; the basis of radio and TV broadcasting. Finally, Gouriet demonstrates how TVs and radios work and how the broadcasted signal is translated. In his last lecture, he gives us a 'vision of the future' outlining how different technologies were currently (then) in development and he even sets up a live broadcast using small dishes from within the lecture theatre. Find out more about the CHRISTMAS LECTURES here: https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures -- Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @theroyalinstitution   Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The Ri is on Twitter:   / ri_science   and Facebook:   / royalinstitution   and TikTok:   / ri_science   Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh... Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/support-us/donat... Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks... Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link. #GeoffreyGGouriet, #1972ChristmasLectures, #ScienceHistory, #EducationalLectures, #HowItAllBegan