Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"[Science fiction] is the only kind of writing that allows you to look at the world we live in and change one piece at a time."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Telautograph | ||
| First fictional reference to a fax machine. |
This is probably the first mention of a device for sending a signature (or other created graphic image) via telephone in fiction; it is the essence of a fax machine.
| She hesitated, and then, impulsively, "I wonder if it would be too much to ask you for your autograph?"
Ralph then attached the Telautograph to his Telephot while the girl did the same. When both instruments were connected he signed his name and he saw his signature appear simultaneously on the machine in Switzerland. |
| Technovelgy from Ralph 124c 41 +,
by Hugo Gernsback. Published by Modern Electrics in 1911 Additional resources -
|
Gernsback did not invent the fax machine, or even the idea of sending an image using a telephone. In 1862 the Italian physicist Giovanni Casellie built the pantelegraph which was used by the French Post and Telegraph agency between Paris and Marseilles from 1856 to 1870. The word is a combination of "pantograph" and "telegraph." A pantograph is a device that has a simple physical connection between a pointer and a drawing pen on a piece of paper. By altering the linkage between the pointer and the pen, the scale of the drawing could be increased or decreased. The pantograph dates from 1630. Thomas Jefferson thought they were cool; he built one into Monticello.
The telautograph machine itself was invented by Elisha Gray in 1888 and was displayed at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. It's purpose was to send handwriting via telegraph lines. See a good article on it at Telautograph Forerunner to Modern Fax.
The first instance of a photograph being sent electronically was in 1902 using a process called telephotography. Find out more at Invention of the Fax Machine
The essential business purpose of a facsimile (or fax) machine is to send a piece of paper with a legal signature. Electronic signatures have made slow progress; it is still a problem with electronic medical records, among other uses.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Ralph 124c 41 +
More Ideas
and Technology by Hugo Gernsback
Tech news articles related to Ralph 124c 41 +
Tech news articles related to works by Hugo Gernsback
Telautograph-related
news articles:
- LongPen By Unotchit: Margaret Atwood's Telautograph For Book Signing
| Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone |
| Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA |
| Will Whales Be Our First Contact? |
| NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
