Unit1 Living with technology 文化背景 InventionsInvention of the telephoneBell speaking into prototype model of the telephone The modern telephone is the culmination of work done by many individuals, all worthy of recognition for their contributions to the field. Alexander Graham Bell was the first to patent the telephone, an "apparatus for transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically", after experimenting with many primitive sound transmitters and receivers. However, the history of the invention of the telephone is a confusing collection of claims and counterclaims, made no less confusing by the many lawsuits which attempted to resolve the patent claims of several individuals.Non-electric "telephones"According to a letter in the Peking Gazette, in 1968, the Chinese inventor Kung-Foo-Whing invented a speech transmitting device, which probably transported the speech through pipes. Speaking tubes remained common and can still be found today.The string or "lover's" telephone has also been known for centuries. Comprising two diaphragms connected by a taut string or wire, sound waves are carried as vibrations along the string or wire from one diaphragm to the other. The classic example is the tin can telephone, a children's toy made by connecting the two ends of a string to the bottoms of two metal cans, paper cups or similar items.Electro-magnetic transmitters and receiversAnto nio MeucciA n early version of the telephone was invented around 1860 by Antonio Meucci who called it teletrofono (telectrophone).The first American demonstration of Meucci's invention took place in Staten Island, New York in 1854. In 1860, a description of it was published in New York's Italian language newspaper. Meucci invented a...
