Because of the geomagnetically induced current from the electromagnetic field, telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed, in some cases giving their operators electric shocks.[22] Telegraph pylons threw sparks.[23] Some operators were able to continue to send and receive messages despite having disconnected their power supplies.[24][25] The following conversation occurred between two operators of the American telegraph line between Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine, on the night of 2 September 1859 and reported in the Boston Evening Traveler:
Boston operator (to Portland operator): "Please cut off your battery [power source] entirely for fifteen minutes."
Portland operator: "Will do so. It is now disconnected."
Boston: "Mine is disconnected, and we are working with the auroral current. How do you receive my writing?"
Portland: "Better than with our batteries on. – Current comes and goes gradually."
Boston: "My current is very strong at times, and we can work better without the batteries, as the aurora seems to neutralize and augment our batteries alternately, making current too strong at times for our relay magnets. Suppose we work without batteries while we are affected by this trouble."
Portland: "Very well. Shall I go ahead with business?"
Boston: "Yes. Go ahead."
The conversation was carried on for around two hours using no battery power at all and working solely with the current induced by the aurora, the first time on record that more than a word or two was transmitted in such manner.[26]
I often stumble on mundane interactions or writing from the past (usually the 19th or the first half of the 20th century) and legitimately wonder if the "society is gradually crumbling, we're going backwards as a culture" people are actually onto something.
Awesome! Very cool to see those professionals show such casual deep knowledge of their systems.
Makes me think it would be very cool if the aurora at this level were constant or at least consistent. We'd have effectively unlimited clean and easy power...
Question, 'tho — to what extent is the geomagnetic field necessary, adding, or diminishing the effect?
For sure, as the charged particles arrive, their paths are being bent by the magnetic field, so stealing energy from the core.
But to what extent are we 'harvesting' that energy?
Seems the flares would still create a gradient across dozens or hundreds of miles of wire even without the core and our geomagnetic field.
If the field is enhancing or multiplying that effect, then we can certainly be said to be harvesting that energy. But, if it is neutral or diminishing the induced currents, it seems just like a side effect.
Also makes me wonder how much energy is there, and how long solar flares would take to deplete it...
Given this is early Morse code, I wonder if these question-answer bits are actually Q-codes being exchanged rather than those exact words being transmitted.
What a great anecdote. Makes me think of Tesla’s (the person not the company) vision of wireless power distribution through the air. Can’t we just put a big tesla coil in orbit and beam that down to power today’s “telegraph”
Telegraphs
Because of the geomagnetically induced current from the electromagnetic field, telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed, in some cases giving their operators electric shocks.[22] Telegraph pylons threw sparks.[23] Some operators were able to continue to send and receive messages despite having disconnected their power supplies.[24][25] The following conversation occurred between two operators of the American telegraph line between Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine, on the night of 2 September 1859 and reported in the Boston Evening Traveler:
The conversation was carried on for around two hours using no battery power at all and working solely with the current induced by the aurora, the first time on record that more than a word or two was transmitted in such manner.[26]