Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

<WWS ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. 364 a it and after a glorious triumph, the achieve- ment which seemed complete becomes a wreck. However, the engineer of this great under- taking had the satisfaction of knowing that he had demonstrated (1) the possibility of laying over 2,000 miles of cable in one con- tinuous length across a boisterous ocean at depths of from two to three miles ; and (2) that by the agency of an electric current distinct and regular signals could be trans- mitted and received through an insulated wire across this vast distance, even when at such a depth. The feasibility of either of these had, it must be remembered, been scouted on all sides. In his presidential address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1889, the late Lord Kelvin (the Professor Thomson previously referred to) said : “To Sir Charles Bright’s vigour, earnest- ness, and enthusiasm was due the successful laying of the first Atlantic cable. We must always feel deeply indebted to him as the pioneer in that great work, when other engineers would not look at it, and thought it absolutely impracticable.” Following a period of more or less confused signals, the line gave out finally on October 20th, after transmitting 732 messages during a period of three months. The wounds opened further under the stimulating doses; the insulation was unable to bear the strain, and • the circulation gradually ceased through cable already in a state of dissolution. Appropriately enough, the last word uttered was, “ Forward.” The Inquest. The great historical sea-line having col- lapsed, some of the foremost electricians of the day were called in—first, to determine the nature of the interruption, with a view to possible remedy ; then, to elicit the cause. Mr. Cromwell Varley of the Electric Tele- graph Company, Mr. E. B. Bright of the “ Magnetic ” Company, and Mr. W. T. Henley, the famous inventor, were severally requested to report on the matter, in conjunction with Sir Charles Bright and Professor Thomson. First of all, the dead line was subjected to a series of tests. For this, resistance coils and Bright’s apparatus for ascertaining the position of a fault were employed. There was every evidence of a serious electrical leakage about 300 miles from Valencia ; but there did not appear to be any fracture in the con- ductor, as weak currents were still fitfully observed. According to the above location, the main leak through the gutta-percha envelope was in a depth of nearly two miles, and at that time no means were available for dealing with such condi- ^ause of Failure. tions. The authorities were unanimous in their opinion as to the cause of failure. Thus, Mr. Varley declared that “ had a more moderate power been used, the cable would still be capable of transmitting satis- factory messages ; ” whilst Professor Thomson expressed himself in the following positive terms: “It is quite certain that, with a properly adjusted mirror galvanometer as receiving instrument at each end, twenty cells of Daniell’s battery would have done the work required. If that had been the arrangement from the beginning, and if no induction coils had ever been applied to the cable since the landing of the ends, it would be now in full work day and night, with no prospect or probability of failure.” To sum up, in engineering parlance, the cause of the untimely end to the ill-used cable, perhaps the simplest verdict would be that “ high pressure steam had been got up in a low pressure boiler.” In further reference to this line, we may suitably note the words of that eminent engineer, the late Mr. Robert Sabine. In his work on the Electric Telegraph (p. 348) Mr. Sabine stated : “At the date of the first