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Saint Mary's National School, Dublin

Talking Cups And Time Machines

19th Oct 2023
Talking Cups And Time Machines

Today in Mr. Murray's 5th class, we learned about the history of the mobile phone and how people communicate over the years. We found out that the first mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola. But before the mobile phone, there were other inventions that made long-distance communication possible.

In 1837, Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. The telegraph used electrical signals to transmit messages over long distances. Morse code was developed to represent letters and numbers with dots and dashes.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. The telephone allowed people to communicate with each other verbally over long distances. The first words spoken over the telephone were "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

These inventions revolutionized the way people communicated. Before the telegraph and telephone, it could take weeks or even months for messages to travel long distances. But with these inventions, messages could be sent and received instantly.

The mobile phone took the next step in communication technology. It allowed people to communicate with each other verbally over long distances without being tied to a specific location.

Experiment with string and plastic cups

After learning about the history of the mobile phones, we went back in time to carry out an experiment involving string and plastic cups. We set up two plastic cups at opposite ends of the classroom and ran a string between them. We then spoke into one cup and listened to the other cup to see if we could hear each other.

We were surprised to find out that we could hear each other perfectly! The string acted as a conductor of sound waves, carrying the sound from our voices from one cup to the other.

This experiment showed us how simple communication devices can be very effective. Even without the use of modern technology, we can still communicate with each other over long distances.

We had a great time learning about the history of the mobile phone and carrying out the experiment with string and plastic cups. We learned that mobile phones have come a long way since their invention in 1973, and that even simple communication devices can be very effective.