What is a Telegraph?

A telegraph is a machine that sends messages over long distances using electric signals. Imagine you want to send a letter to someone far away, but instead of writing it on paper, you can send it very quickly with a telegraph!

How Does It Work?

When someone wants to send a message, they use a special code called Morse code. Morse code uses dots and dashes to represent letters. For example:

• A is represented by a dot (•) followed by a dash (—)
• B is represented by a dash (—) followed by three dots (•••)

The person sending the message types out the code using a key. The key sends electric signals that travel through wires to the person who is receiving the message. The receiver then translates the signals back into letters and words!

Why Was It Important?

The telegraph was very important because it allowed people to communicate much faster than before. Before telegraphs, if you wanted to send a message, you had to wait for someone to deliver a letter on foot or by horse, which could take a long time. With the telegraph, messages could travel almost instantly, making it easier to share news and information across long distances.

Fun Fact!

The first successful telegraph message was sent by Samuel Morse in 1844. The message was "What hath God wrought!" which means "What has God made!"

This invention changed the way people communicated and helped connect the world!