Q: (Initially posted on December 9, 2002) FROM MENTEE LAUREN S. IN CT
How can voices travel all over the world through little telephone wires?

December 12, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI
I really shouldn't try to answer this one. We must have some mentors
who know a lot more about it. But I can't resist looking things up.
Here's a history of the telephone:
http://www.inventorsmuseum.com/bell.htm and early amplification
process, using vacuum tubes.
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/recording/bell-labs.html Now we have
transistors and the signals are digital rather than analog. I wasn't
able to turn up a discuassion of amplification of digital signals -
but if you can amplify a sine wave (a smooth curve), the same process
should amplify a signal that's a series of 1's and 0's... I think.
Let's see if a more expert person can help out here!