"Past, Present, and Future"

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 9, 13 September 1929, Page 12

"Past, Present, and Future"

"To Sartor and his magic carpet, there was no there and then but all was here and now." -Carlyie. I the last fifty years there have been many scientific discoveries most of which have been the result of slow and regular development, but there is one exception, that of wireless. It sprang into being with a suddeness which attracted to it the attention of the world. Within the space of thirty years it has been developed to unconceived bounds. It is not long ago that Hertz and Marconi were investigating something new and intangible.. These pioneers of science, like all men of genius, were striving for the realisation of their ideal-perfection of communication. They strove to give form to what was little more than a dream, Scoffed at by their fellow scientists, designated by the world as maniacs, and in the face of baffling opposition these pioneers of wireless bequeathed to the world an unrivalled heritage. The struggles for recognition of the

-_--_- a inventors of radio would read like,a novel. Then it dawned on the commercial world that here was a means of communication hitherto undreamed of. Before this the employment of the air for communication was regarded as impossible. The pioneer of a science usually builds a firm foundation and leaves in the hands of another the perfection of his discovery. Not so with radio. It has come very near maturity within the last thirty years. Radio makes nothing of space and time. Distance is an obstacle easily overcome. Commercially it is invaluable. It has saved countless lives and has made travel by sea safe. Almost every day we hear of some new use to which it has been put. It is teacher, doctor, and entertainer, and to those who are away from civilisation and its , comforts, a receiving set is no littl consolation, In hospitals it has don wonderful work. Those who are in pain are grateful at having their minds distracted from the thoughts of an approaching operation. ‘Those who are confined to, a bed for the whole of their lives find at last something to make life worth living. We may be amused to think of the uncivilised Indians, as described in Mr. J. Ourle’s new book, listening with mouths agape to the latest "hits" broadcast from an up-to-date American studio. Wireless will never become a thing of the past until it has been displaced by a discovery that offers a better means of communication, and that is unlikely. In certain directions wireless can .be improved. It will never be totally displaced. With the perfection of radiovision there will be — a means of communication not. even foreseen by that prince of prophets, Jules Verne. It is no exaggeration to say that one day those in New Zealand will see and speak to their dear ones abroad, for television is a child of radio. , The possibilities of radiovision, which is slowly coming into being, are without number. Space and time, man’s greatest enemies, have been overcome, We live in a scientific age, and this century has ‘been a prolific .one in both arts and sciences, WIRELESS of to-morrow! Who can tell? The world is becoming more and more a world of science and the "machine age," as foretold by Wells, may be a thing of the near future. Telephone communication from one end of the world to the other has already been accomplished; soon it will appear commonplace, and new phenom- *, ena of communication will fill the COlzs-4 ums of our newspapers.