Hello, My name is Katie Whelan and today I am going to be analyzing Alexander Graham bells invention, which is the telephone.
What is is? 20
It is a modified version of a telegraph. A telegraph is a system for transmitting messages from a distance, along a wire. Bell’s patented telephone design is similar to the telegraph but instead transmits sound.
At first glance can you tell what it is?20
Honestly, no. At first glance I thought it was something you look through and was possible an early invention of the camera. It does not resemble the telephones or mobile you see everywhere nowadays. The design, style and technology of the telephone have changed dramatically over the years. So much that is was surprising to find out that this was the look and design of first telephone invented.
What is the technology?20 1min
The telephone consists of two main parts, the transmitter and receiver. The transmitter and receiver each contain a diaphragm, which is a round metal disk. During a phone call, the sound waves of the callers voice cause the diaphragm in the transmitter to vibrate. This motion is transferred along the phone line to the receiver. The receiving diaphragm vibrates according to the speaker’s speech pattern and produces the sound waves that were sent into the transmitter.
Is it new technology? 20
It is a modified version of the telegraph. The purpose of the harmonic telegraph was to transmit several messages over a single telegraph wire at the same time without interference. The main difference was that Bell’s telephone could transmit sound.
What is it made of?20
The telephone consists of:
Transmitter
Receiver,
Single microphone,
Stationary speaking tube
Wires,
Ranged from glass, ceramics, paper, metals, rubber and plastic
What about it’s style?20 2mins
It is clear that the function and how the person would use the telephone was the main inspiration for the style and look of the phone. Thomas Edison introduced a model that had a moveable listening earpiece and a stationary speaking tube.
Is it necessary for the technology to take this shape and form?20
No. The evolution of the design of the telephone has transformed over the years and this proves how the shape and form can differ from the original telephone design. As long as there is enough distance between the receiver and transmitter so that the user can hear the caller through the receiver and still be able to talk into the transmitter then it will work successfully.
What other things could influence the style of the object?20
The main factor that would influence the style would be the user. Age and disabilities would change the style of the phone. For example telephones for the blind and hearing impaired have been created. With the new smart phones you could go hands free and command the virtual assistant to call people, send msg and so on. There are phones with larger buttons and text for older generations.
Who is the maker of the object?20 3mins
Alexander Graham Bells patent, for his invention of the telephone, was issued on March 7, 1876 by the US patent office. Nowadays there are many companies that create phones such as Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Google, blackberry and so on.
How was the object invented? 20
Alexander graham bell was in the city of Brantford, Ontario, Canada where he was working on a harmonic telegraph with Watson. A reed struck on Watson’s transmitter and an intermittent current was converted to a continuous current. Bell was able to hear sound on his receiver. This confirmed his belief that sound, could be transmitted and reconverted through an eclectic wire using a continuous electric current.
What does the object tell you about the person who made it? 20
The object reveals that the creator expressed an interest in speech, hearing and communication. Furthermore this object shows that they were interested in the development of the communication technology at the time. This object allows the user to communicate with another human at a distance.
How is the object used? 20 4mins
The main function of the telephone is to communicate with another person at a distance. In today’s society, phones have many functions such as researching content online, play music, games, videos and communicating with others. People can text, call, email, send a Snapchat or tweet someone. Society has become accustomed to this distance and uses the phone for their main way of communicating with others.
Who are the stakeholders? 20
Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders funded Bell’s invention. Hubbard saw great promise in the harmonic telegraph and backed Bell’s experiments. He agreed that Bell could develop his telephone concept as long as he devoted most of his time to the harmonic telegraph.
Additionally another main stakeholder is the customer because they have influence over the style, design, function, and features of the telephone.
In what way is the object valuable? 20
The telephone is considered valuable because it allows communication at a great distance. At the time the telegraph and letters were the main sources for communicating at a distance. With the development of the technology, people could communicate to someone in another town or location.
Has the object changed in relation to any stakeholder? 20 5mins
Ye,s since the first telephone was created, the customers and competitors have grown. With the growth and development of technology, this product is in demand. The customers and competitors have an influence over the design and technology of the telephone. There are more competitors, which put pressure on phone companies to develop something new for the phone.
The latest phones have virtual assistants, facial recognition, cameras built in and so much more. It’s like a mini computer that fits in your hand.
Does it have monetary value? 20
According the the Independent.co . UK, The number of active mobile devices is around 7.22 billion. That means there are more phones than people in the world. With phone companies producing new models there is a high revenue income because the phone is in demand. People want the latest technology and are willing to pay a high price for it.
Cultural context
How the telephone has changed society? 20
The telephone has shaped the way we communicate with one another. With the use of phones you can communicate with another person at a distance. However as a society we have become dependent on the phone and use it as a barrier from other people. We rather communicate through a screen then talk face to face.
We are alone together 20 6mins
If you look at a group of people at the bus stop or in pub or even look at a group of friends, you are guaranteed to see some of them on their phones. We are slowly loosing our ability to talk to one another and have become socially awkward. We can’t go more than a few minutes without checking our phones.
Conversation happens in real time 20
With texting you can control what you want to say and when you want to say it. Furthermore you can edit it and maybe even deleted it. Conversations happen in real-time. There is no editing or deleting and maybe that’s why we fear communicating face to face.
Filtering conversations 20
As a society we have this need to filter everything. We Photoshop images, manipulate voice recordings and edited what we text until we are satisfied with it. Because of phones we have this desire to filter how we communicate with one another. We need to learn that you can’t filter real life or real life conversations.
Future of the telephone 20 7mins
There is no doubt that the technology of the telephone will continue to grow. Younger generations are introduced to phones from as young as baby's because it is used as a distraction. All we can do now is watch our screen to see how we are slowly loosing the ability to communicate with one another.
