"Annenberg Media" "¶" "CAPTIONING IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE ANNENBERG/CPB PROJECT" "SCIENTISTS OFTEN GET LETTERS" "FROM PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY'VE MADE SOME GREAT DISCOVERY," "USUALLY THAT PROTONS ARE BROWN" "OR THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY IS A MISTAKE." "WE OFTEN TRY TO ANSWER THOSE LETTERS," "GENTLY SAYING THEY REALLY HAVEN'T CHANGED SCIENCE FOREVER." "WHAT REALLY WOULD CONSTITUTE" "A GREAT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY?" "WHAT SORT OF THING" "WOULD MAKE SCIENTISTS SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE?" "LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE." "THERE ARE CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS OF NATURE." "FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS G," "THE UNIVERSAL CONSTANT OF GRAVITY," "EQUAL TO 6.7 TIMES 10 TO THE -8th" "DYNE-CENTIMETERS-SQUARED PER GRAM-SQUARED." "OR THERE'S THE SPEED OF LIGHT," "EQUAL TO 3 TIMES 10 TO THE 10th CENTIMETERS PER SECOND." "THERE'S THE ELECTRIC CHARGE ON THE ELECTRON," "THE FUNDAMENTAL UNIT OF ELECTRIC CHARGE, 4.7 TIMES 10 TO THE -1O" "IN ELECTROSTATIC UNITS OF CHARGE." "THESE QUANTITIES AND OTHERS LIKE THEM" "GOVERN THE NATURE OF THE WORLD." "IF ANY OF THESE QUANTITIES" "DIFFERED IN MAGNITUDE FROM WHAT IT IS," "THE WORLD WOULD BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT." "YET WE DON'T KNOW WHY ANY OF THESE QUANTITIES" "HAS THE SIZE THAT IT DOES." "BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, SOMEBODY DISCOVERS" "THAT TWO APPARENTLY UNRELATED FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS" "ARE REALLY RELATED AFTER ALL," "THAT THE SIZE OF ONE" "IS A RESULT OF THE SIZE OF THE OTHER." "WHENEVER THAT HAPPENS," "TWO PREVIOUSLY UNRELATED FIELDS OF PHYSICS" "ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER INTO THE SAME SIMPLE STORY." "THAT IS ALWAYS A GREAT DISCOVERY." "IT'S A DISCOVERY OF THAT KIND" "THAT I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU ABOUT TODAY." "NOT ALL PHYSICISTS ARE CREATED EQUAL." "ONLY A HANDFUL HAVE THE VISION OF A KEPLER OR A FARADAY." "FEW WILL SHARE THE NOBEL PRIZE WITH ALBERT EINSTEIN." "FEWER STILL THE FAME OR THE FATE OF GALILEO." "NEVER AGAIN CAN THE UNIVERSE BE SEEN" "WITH THE REVOLUTIONARY VIEW OF COPERNICUS." "AND THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER ISAAC NEWTON." "BUT IF THE LIFE AND WORK OF EVERY NOTABLE PHYSICIST" "WERE DISPLAYED IN ONE GREAT HALL OF PHYSICS," "THE EXHIBITS WOULD SOON REVEAL" "THEY ALL HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON." "NO MATTER WHERE OR WHEN THEY LIVE," "ALL PHYSICISTS SEEM EQUALLY FASCINATED" "THE MYSTERIES OF NATURE." "FOR EXAMPLE, CONSIDER THE MYSTERIOUS NATURE OF LIGHT." "THE VERY IDEA OF LIGHT, ESPECIALLY THE SPEED OF LIGHT," "HAVE BEEN AS HARD TO COMPREHEND" "AS THE UNIMAGINABLE VASTNESS OF THE UNIVERSE." "IN COSMIC TERMS," "THE SUN, A RATHER COMMON STAR, IS RELATIVELY CLOSE." "ITS LIGHT REACHES THE EARTH IN A FEW MINUTES." "BUT FROM DEEPER SPACE, LIGHT TRAVELS SO FAR" "THAT ITS FLIGHT ISN'T MEASURED IN MINUTES OR HOURS," "BUT IN LIGHT-YEARS." "FROM THE EARTH, THE NEAREST STAR BEYOND THE SUN" "IS FOUR LIGHT-YEARS AWAY." "TRAVELING AT 300,000 KILOMETERS PER SECOND," "IT TAKES THE LIGHT FROM THAT STAR" "FOUR YEARS TO REACH THE EARTH." "FOR YEAR AFTER YEAR, RIGHT HERE ON EARTH," "THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE THING ABOUT THE SPEED OF LIGHT" "WAS AN ACCURATE WAY OF MEASURING IT." "IN FACT, FOR THE LONGEST TIME," "THE SPEED OF LIGHT WAS BEYOND COMPREHENSION." "EARLY SCIENTISTS SAW IT AS AN INFINITE THING," "A PHENOMENON WHICH TRAVELS INSTANTANEOUSLY" "FROM SOURCE TO OBSERVER." "BUT A FEW PEOPLE BEGAN TO SUSPECT OTHERWISE." "IN 1675, OLAUS ROEMER," "A DANISH ASTRONOMER AT PARIS' ROYAL OBSERVATORY," "OBSERVED AN APPARENT DELAY" "IN THE ECLIPSES OF JUPITER'S SATELLITES" "AND USED IT TO ESTIMATE THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT." "IN 1849, ARMAND FIZEAU USED A ROTATING WHEEL" "TO MEASURE THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "HE MEASURED IT BOTH IN AIR AND IN WATER." "IN 1850, ANOTHER FRENCH PHYSICIST, JEAN FOUCAULT," "DID MUCH THE SAME." "THE INVENTOR OF THE GYROSCOPE," "FOUCAULT MEASURED LIGHT'S VELOCITY" "WITH A ROTATING MIRROR." "THESE EXPERIMENTS WERE QUITE ADVANCED FOR THE TIME." "IN FACT, NO ONE REALLY DID MUCH BETTER" "UNTIL THE TWENTIES-- 1926, TO BE EXACT." "IN THAT YEAR, PROFESSOR ALBERT A. MICHELSON" "ACCURATELY MEASURED THE TIME IT TOOK LIGHT" "TO TRAVEL BETWEEN TWO PEAKS ABOVE LOS ANGELES" "MOUNT WILSON AND MOUNT SAN ANTONIO." "THE TWO MOUNTAINTOPS ARE ABOUT 30 KILOMETERS APART." "IT WOULD TAKE NEARLY .0001" "SECOND" "FOR LIGHT TO TRAVEL" "BETWEEN THE TWO PEAKS." "THAT WAS LONG ENOUGH" "FOR MICHELSON TO MEASURE IT WITH PRECISION." "30KILOMETERS," "ABOUT.0001" "SECOND." "THOSEWERE MICHELSON'SCOMPONENTS" "INMEASURING THESPEEDOF LIGHT." "HEREPORTED THATTHESPEEDOFLIGHT" "ISEQUALTO 299,796KILOMETERS PERSECOND." "THATISALMOSTEXACTLY 3TIMES10 TO THE8th  METERSPERSECOND." "WHY DOES THE SPEED OF LIGHT HAVE THAT SPECIFIC LUE?" "WHY IS IT A FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANT OF NATURE?" "NO ONE REALLY KNOWS." "BUT SCIENTISTS HAVE ONLY MARGINALLY IMPROVED UPON" "MICHELSON'S MEASUREMENT OF A FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANT" "THAT DETERMINES THE SCALE OF EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE." "THE SPEED OF LIGHT IS ONE SUCH FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANT." "THE CONSTANT IN NEWTON'S LAW OF GRAVITY IS ANOTHER." "FOR THAT REASON ALONE," "NEWTON MIGHT HAVE STRUTTED HIS ENTIRE LIFETIME" "AS ENGLAND'S GREATEST SCIENTIST." "BUT IN THE REALM OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTATION," "NEWTON COULDN'T MATCH HENRY CAVENDISH," "AN ENGLISHMAN WHO MEASURED" "THE CONSTANT OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION." "IN THE PROCESS," "CAVENDISH WEIGHED NOT ONLY THE EXPANDING BRITISH EMPIRE," "BUT HE ACTUALLY WEIGHED THE ENTIRE PLANET." "BY ANY MEASURE, WEIGHING THE WHOLE WORLD" "IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT." "WHILE ALL SCIENTISTS AREN'T AS AMBITIOUS AS CAVENDISH," "NEITHER ARE THEY AS MODEST." "CAVENDISH DID NOT MAKE HIS NOTEBOOKS PUBLIC" "DURING HIS LIFETIME." "IN ANY CASE, WHETHER ONE HIDES ONE'S PAPERS," "LIKE CAVENDISH," "OR SHOWS THEM OFF TO THE WORLD," "LIKE GALILEO GALILEI," "ALL GREAT PHYSICISTS SEEM TO KEEP NOTEBOOKS." "AND ALL THOSE NOTEBOOKS," "NO MATTER THE SUBJECT OR STYLE OF EVENTUAL PUBLICATION," "SEEM TO BE JOURNEYS" "INTO THE WORLD OF EXPERIMENTATION." "IT MUST BE COPPER." "I'LL HAVE ANOTHER LOOK." "AT TIMES, A PHYSICS LABORATORY MAY SEEM TEDIOUS." "AND AT TIMES, THAT'S JUST WHAT IT IS." "YET THIS IS WHERE THE PHYSICS OF THE UNIVERSE" "PLAYS ON A REGULAR BASIS." "IN THAT LIGHT, AN ORDINARY LABORATORY CAN BE SEEN" "AS A MAGICAL PLACE," "ZIPPING THROUGH SPACE" "ALMOST AS FAST AS THE IMAGINATION CAN PICTURE IT." "WHAT'S MORE MAGICAL THAN LIGHT?" "MORE POWERFUL THAN THE RAW FORCE OF ELECTRICITY?" "MORE PERVASIVE THAN THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY?" "ELECTRICITY AND GRAVITY." "WHEN PHYSICISTS UNDERSTAND THOSE TWO FORCES," "THEY APPROACH THE SCALE AND STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE." "BUT TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY," "THEY NEED TO MAKE A CONNECTION WITH ANOTHER FORCE," "THE PHENOMENON OF MAGNETISM." "MAGNETISM DIFFERS FROM GRAVITY AND ELECTRICITY" "IN A SUBTLE WAY." "GRAVITY, A FORCE ACTING BETWEEN MASSES, ALWAYS ATTRACTS." "ELECTRICITY, ACTING BETWEEN DIFFERENT CHARGES, ALSO ATTRACTS." "ACTING BETWEEN CHARGES THAT ARE THE SAME," "IT WILL REPEL." "MAGNETISM, ACTING BETWEEN MAGNETIC POLES THAT ARE DIFFERENT," "ALSO ATTRACTS." "BETWEEN MAGNETIC POLES THAT ARE THE SAME, IT REPELS." "THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAGNETISM AND THE OTHER FORCES" "IS THAT MAGNETIC PULLS ARE NEVER ALONE." "THEY'RE ALWAYS IN PAIRS THAT ARE BOTH EQUAL AND OPPOSITE." "IN SPITE OF THEIR DIFFERENCES," "GRAVITY AND ELECTRICITY" "OBEY SIMILAR FORCE LAWS," "AND SO DOES MAGNETISM." "ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM." "THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE FORCES" "WAS MADE IN THE GREAT HALL OF PHYSICS." "THE DISCOVERY OF THE CONNECTION" "BETWEEN ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM" "WAS MADE IN 1820 BY HANS CHRISTIAN OERSTED." "LEGEND SAYS THAT OERSTED MADE HIS DISCOVERY" "WHILE LECTURING AND DOING A DEMONSTRATION" "BY ACCIDENT." "SOME PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE" "THAT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES CAN BE MADE BY ACCIDENT," "SO THERE'S ANOTHER THEORY." "THE OTHER THEORY IS" "THAT HE PURPOSELY MADE HIS DISCOVERY DURING A LECTURE" "SO NOBODY WOULD THINK HE HAD MADE IT BY ACCIDENT." "IN ANY CASE, I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU" "WHAT THAT DEMONSTRATION MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE." "I'VE SET UP APPARATUS HERE LIKE OERSTED'S," "SO LET'S USE OUR IMAGINATION." "THE YEAR IS 1820." "WE'RE IN COPENHAGEN." "THIS EVENING, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE" "A GALA PUBLIC LECTURE DEMONSTRATION." "YOU ARE THE CREAM OF COPENHAGEN SOCIETY," "DRESSED IN EVENING GOWNS AND FROCK COATS." "I AM HANS CHRISTIAN OERSTED," "A BRILLIANT THINKER BUT A BUMBLING, INEPT EXPERIMENTER" "AND VERY NEARSIGHTED." "I REALIZE THIS IS SOMEWHAT UNREALISTIC" "BECAUSE I'M NOT NEARSIGHTED." "WE WILL USE OUR IMAGINATION AND DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN." "IN 1800, ALESSANDRO VOLTA HAD INVENTED" "THE ELECTRIC BATTERY, OR THE VOLTAIC PILE." "FOR THE FIRST TIME," "THERE WAS A DEPENDABLE SOURCE OF ELECTRIC CURRENT." "I HAVE AN ORIGINAL VOLTAIC PILE" "MADE FOR US BY SEARS, ROEBUCK." "OERSTED KNEW ELECTRIC CURRENTS CAUSED FUNNY THINGS TO HAPPEN." "A WIRE CARRYING AN ELECTRIC CURRENT" "WOULD TURN THE ELECTRICITY INTO HEAT." "HE WAS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN" "THAT HIS ELECTIC CURRENT WOULD TURN ALSO INTO MAGNETISM." "HE WOULD PASS AN ELECTRIC CURRENT" "THROUGH AN ELECTRIC WIRE" "AND LINE UP THE WIRE" "PERPENDICULAR TO A COMPASS NEEDLE." "WHEN THE CURRENT PASSED THROUGH THE WIRE," "IT WOULD BECOME A MAGNET." "WE WOULD KNOW THAT" "BECAUSE THE MAGNET NEEDLE WOULD BECOME PARALLEL TO IT." "WOULD YOU PLEASE BE MY ASSISTANT?" "YOU THROW THE SWITCH." "PULL IT TOWARDS YOURSELF WHEN I SAY TO THROW IT." "WHEN HE THROWS THE SWITCH," "AN ELECTRIC CURRENT WILL RUN THROUGH THIS WIRE." "THIS WIRE WILL TURN INTO A MAGNET." "THE NEEDLE WILL BE PARALLEL TO THE WIRE." "HE HOLDS HIS WIRE PERPENDICULAR TO THE NEEDLE." "WHEN IT SWINGS AROUND," "THEY'LL SEE THE CONNECTION" "BETWEEN ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM" "REVEALED FOR THE FIRST TIME." "THIS WILL BE A GREAT DISCOVERY." "WHEN I SAY 3, PULL THE SWITCH." "1, 2, 3." "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WHATSOEVER HAPPENED." "OERSTED IS DISAPPOINTED." "HE MAKES A KINK IN HIS WIRE" "TO PULL THE MAGNET AROUND THAT WAY." "NOTHING WORKS." "THE MAGNET WON'T BUDGE." "HE HAS HIS ASSISTANT OPEN THE SWITCH." "HE ANNOUNCES THAT HIS EXPERIMENT'S A FAILURE." "THE AUDIENCE STARTS FILING OUT OF THE HALL." "HIS ASSISTANT, WHO'S VERY SHARP," "NOTICES THE BATTERY IS NOT QUITE DEAD." "NOW, IN THESE DAYS," "YOU DIDN'T WASTE A LITTLE BIT OF ELECTRIC CHARGE" "THAT WAS LEFT IN A BATTERY." "OERSTED COULD DO ONE MORE EXPERIMENT." "HE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING THAT MADE NO SENSE TO DO." "HE PLACED HIS WIRE" "PARALLEL TO THE MAGNET NEEDLE." "THIS MADE NO SENSE." "IF IT'S PARALLEL TO THE NEEDLE" "AND BECOMES A MAGNET," "THE NEEDLE'S ALREADY LINED UP WITH IT." "IT WON'T MOVE ANYWAY." "HE DECIDES TO GIVE IT A GO." "HE HOLDS HIS WIRE PARALLEL TO THE NEEDLE," "TELLS HIS ASSISTANT TO PULL THE SWITCH." "1, 2, 3." "THE MAGNET NEEDLE SWINGS AROUND." "OERSTED HAS DISCOVERED ELECTROMAGNETISM." "YOU CAN OPEN THE SWITCH NOW." "THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP." "OERSTED GOT A SURPRISING RESULT" "BECAUSE OF THE WAY" "THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF AN ELECTRIC CURRENT WORKS." "IF THIS IS A WIRE CARRYING AN ELECTRIC CURRENT," "LIKE THE ONE WE..." "DID IT REALLY HAPPEN THAT WAY?" "NO ONE KNOWS FOR CERTAIN" "WHAT THE AUDIENCE DID OR DIDN'T SEE." "OVER THE YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN" "VARYING ACCOUNTS OF THE INCIDENT." "THE FACT REMAINS, BUMBLING OR NOT," "OERSTED'S DISCOVERY WAS A STROKE OF GENIUS." "IT ELECTRIFIED THE FINEST SCIENTIFIC MINDS" "OF THE 19th CENTURY" "AND SET OFF AN INTELLECTUAL CHARGE" "THAT LASTED 50 YEARS." "BUT WHY?" "A BATTERY, A COMPASS, AND A LITTLE PIECE OF WIRE." "IT WASN'T HIS APPARATUS." "IT WAS HIS FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT," "A CONCEPT SO POWERFUL" "THAT WHEN FINALLY UNDERSTOOD," "IT HAD THE POWER TO LINK ORDINARY ELECTRICITY" "TO THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY LIGHTS IN THE UNIVERSE," "THE STARS." "THE STARS ARE LINKED TO EACH OTHER" "BY THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE LAW." "TO FIND THE GRAVITATIONAL CONSTANT," "AND TO WEIGH THE WORLD IN THE PROCESS," "HENRY CAVENDISH" "HAD MEASURED THE FORCE BETWEEN TWO KNOWN MASSES." "THE RESULT OF THE MEASUREMENT IS THE VALUE OF G IN UNITS" "THATCOMEDIRECTLY FROM THE FORCE LAW EQUATION." "6.7TIMES 10TOTHE-11th" "NEWTON-METERS-SQUARED PERKILOGRAM-SQUARED." "A SIMILAR KIND OF MEASUREMENT" "CAN BE USED TO FIND THE ELECTRIC CONSTANT." "HERE, AN ELECTROSTATIC GENERATING MACHINE" "IS USED TO PUT POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ELECTRIC CHARGE" "ON TWO PARALLEL METAL PLATES" "UNTIL THE ATTRACTIVE FORCE BETWEEN THEM OVERCOMES GRAVITY." "FROM THE FORCE BETWEEN THE PLATES," "THE FORCE BETWEEN POINT CHARGES" "CAN BE DEDUCED." "AGAIN, MEASURING THE FORCE" "REVEALS THE CONSTANT IN THE FORCE EQUATION." "THE UNITS OF THE CONSTANT" "COME DIRECTLY FROM THE FORCE EQUATION." "THECONSTANTIS EQUALTO 9TIMES10 TO THE9th" "NEWTON-METERS-SQUARED PERCOULOMB-SQUARED." "BY NOW," "THE PROCEDURE FOR MEASURING CONSTANTS AND FORCE LAWS" "IS NO MYSTERY." "ANOTHER FORCE, THE FORCE OF MAGNETISM," "ANOTHER MEASUREMENT." "ANOTHER CONSTANT WITH UNITS FROM THE FORCE LAW." "THREE LAWS, THREE CONSTANTS." "AND YET, THE POINT OF OERSTED'S GREAT DISCOVERY" "IS THAT MAGNETISM D ELECTRICITY" "ARE NOT SEPARATE." "THE MAGNETIC CONSTANT SHOULD BE FOUND" "FROM THE FORCE BETWEEN ELECTRIC CURRENTS." "WHEN ELECTRIC CURRENT FLOWS THROUGH METAL BARS," "THE MAGNETIC FORCE BETWEEN THEM" "IS ENOUGH TO PULL THEM TOGETHER." "THERE ARE NO MAGNETIC POLES HERE." "THE FORCE IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE TWO CURRENTS," "MEASURED IN AMPERES OR COULOMBS PER SECOND" "AND THE LENGTHS OF THE TWO BARS IN METERS." "THE RESULT OF THE MEASUREMENT OF THE MAGNETIC CONSTANT" "IS 1 TIMES 10 TO THE -7th" "NEWTON-SECONDS-SQUARED PER COULOMB-SQUARED." "THE IMPORTANCE" "OF THESE CONSTANTS" "WAS UNDERSTOOD" "BY MANY SCIENTISTS" "IN THE 19th CENTURY." "BUT ONLY JAMES CLERK MAXWELL, 50 YEARS AFTER OERSTED'S DISCOVERY," "FINALLY UNDERSTOOD THEIR SIGNIFICANCE." "THE ELECTRIC FORCE AND MAGNETIC FORCE" "AREN'T INDEPENDENT FUNDAMENTAL FORCES OF NATURE." "THEY'RE RELATED TO EACH OTHER." "THEREFORE, THE CONSTANTS MUST SOMEHOW ALSO BE RELATED." "BUT HOW?" "THE RATIO K sub e DIVIDED BY KsubmWOULDHAVE" "THEUNITSMETERS-SQUARED/ SECOND-SQUARED." "INOTHERWORDS, THESQUAREOF ASPEED." "BUTWHATSPEED?" "ITSSQUAREIS 9TIMES 10TOTHE16th" "METERS-SQUARED PERSECOND-SQUARED." "DIVIDE THE ELECTRIC CONSTANT BY THE MAGNETIC CONSTANT," "AND THERE IT IS." "THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "MAXWELL COMPARED TWO MEASUREMENTS" "THAT SEEM TO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LIGHT." "BUT HIDDEN WITHIN THE FORCES OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM," "HE FOUND THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "AND THAT DISCOVERY WOULD INSPIRE MAXWELL" "TO DEVELOP A COMBINED THEORY" "THAT UNIFIED THE CONCEPTS" "OF ELECTRICITY, MAGNETISM, AND LIGHT." "WITHOUT MAXWELL'S DISCOVERY," "PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD WOULD BE INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT." "AND SO WOULD THOSE OF THE UNIVERSE." "I HEARD A VERY DISTINGUISHED FRIEND OF MINE" "GIVE AN ELOQUENT ARGUMENT FOR PURE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH," "AS OPPOSED TO APPLIED RESEARCH," "WHICH HAS SOME PURPOSE." "HE SAID THE GREAT DISCOVERY BY JAMES CLERK MAXWELL" "LED DIRECTLY AND IMMEDIATELY TO THE INVENTION OF THE RADIO," "THEN TELEVISION," "AND TO THE WHOLE REVOLUTION" "IN LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS" "THAT WE'VE SEEN HAPPEN." "ALL THAT HAPPENED NOT BECAUSE MAXWELL" "WAS TRYING TO DISCOVER A WAY OF COMMUNICATING BETTER" "BUT BECAUSE HE WAS FIDDLING AROUND" "WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM." "IF MAXWELL WANTED TO DISCOVER SOMETHING ABOUT" "HOW TO COMMUNICATE BETTER OVER LONG DISTANCES," "HE WOULD HAVE EXPERIMENTED" "WITH GIANT MEGAPHONES AND RELAY STATIONS." "IT'S AN INGENIOUS ARGUMENT, AND IT IS CORRECT." "IF WE LOOK BACK IN HISTORY," "HISTORY SOMETIMES HAS SURPRISES FOR US." "THE WORLD'S FIRST GREAT REVOLUTION" "IN LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS" "OCCURRED WHEN MAXWELL WAS YOUNG." "HE WAS INTENSELY INTERESTED IN LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS." "THE TELEGRAPH WAS INVENTED IN 1838." "BY THE 1850s, THE WORLD WAS EMBARKED ON" "A GREAT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVENTURE," "COMPARABLE TO OUR GOING TO THE MOON." "LAYING A TELEGRAPH CABLE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN" "WOULD REDUCE COMMUNICATION TIME" "BETWEEN NEW YORK AND LONDON" "FROM WEEKS TO A FRACTION OF A SECOND." "THEY SENT A SHIP" "REELING OUT THE CABLE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN." "IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN, THE WIRE SNAPPED." "IT WAS ALL OVER." "YOUNG JAMES CLERK MAXWELL CELEBRATED THAT OCCASION" "BY WRITING A LITTLE VERSE ABOUT IT." "THE REFRAIN IS "UNDER THE SEA, UNDER THE SEA."" "MAXWELL, BEING A SCIENTIST,T," "WASN'T GOING TO WRITE THAT OUT EVERY TIME." "HE HAD AN ALGEBRAIC NOTATION." "HE WROTE U FOR UNDER THE SEA" "AND 2U FOR UNDER THE SEA, UNDER THE SEA." ""UNDER THE SEA, UNDER THE SEA," ""NO LITTLE SIGNALS ARE COMING TO ME." ""UNDER THE SEA, UNDER THE SEA," ""SOMETHING HAS SURELY GONE WRONG." ""AND WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF IT DOES NOT TRANSPIRE." ""BUT SOMETHING HAS BROKEN THE TELEGRAPH WIRE," ""OR ELSE THEY'VE BEEN PULLING TOO STRONG." ""UNDER THE SEA, UNDER THE SEA," ""SO MANY HUNDRED MILES LONG," ""HOW COULD THEY SPIN OUT SUCH DURABLE STUFF" ""LINE, ALL WIRY, ELASTIC, AND TOUGH" ""IN THE SALT WATER SO STRONG?" ""UNDER THE SEA, UNDER THE SEA," ""THERE'LL BE LOTS OF CABLES ERE LONG," ""FOR THEY'LL SPIN A NEW CABLE AND TRY IT AGAIN" ""AND SETTLE OUR BARGAINS OF COTTON AND GRAIN" "WITH A LINE THAT WILL NEVER GO WRONG."" "CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, INC." "CAPTIONS COPYRIGHT 1985 CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY" "THE CORPORATION FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE TELEVISION THE ANNENBERG/CPB PROJECT" "Annenberg Media" "¶" "For information about this and other Annenberg Media programs call 1-800-LEARNER and visit us at"