[Points: What it is—who invented it—the good it has already done—future possibilities.]
The radio is one of the greatest scientific inventions of the modern The whole atmosphere is enveloped with a very fine substance age. called ether. All sounds raise ripples in it just as anything thrown into water produces ripples all round. These ethereal waves move through the sky, and if anybody can catch them, he can hear the original sound, whatever the distance. This is the broad principle on which radiograph works. There is no need of any wire, as in ordinary telegraph; for this reason, it is also called wireless telegraphy.
The credit for its invention goes to an Italian scientist, Marconi by name. The famous Bengalee scientist, Sir J. C. Bose, was really the first to send out messages through ethereal waves; but as he delayed announcing his invention, he was anticipated by the Italian. India has thus been deprived of the glory that was justly her due. idewal
The radio is of recent invention, yet it has already worked wonders. It has annihilated all distance. Seated in our own rooms, we can now hear a speech or song from the farthest corner of the globe. We are kept informed of the progress of a football or a cricket match hundreds of miles away, as if we were actually watching the game with our own eyes. Similarly, we can listen to the voices of famous musicians, statesmen, scientists, etc., of the whole world direct. When ever a ship is in distress, she sends out wireless signals, which reach some other ship or ships far away, and make them hasten to the rescue. Flying by air would not have been possible but for the radio, because the movements of planes are directed by it. It is now revealing to us some of the mysteries of the universe through rockets.
The radio has higher possibilities for the good of mankind. It can bring joy and pleasure to the life of a villager by enabling him to listen to songs, stories, messages, etc., from all over the world. It enables a poor, illiterate villager to profit by talks given by eminent men in far away places. In this way, village life can be relieved of its disadvantages, and people can be content to live there, instead of flocking to towns.
