Civil War: The Invention Of Morse Code

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The Invention of Morse code

Transmitting codes has been around for nearly two centuries, First using a code called Morse code when they needed to transmit vital messages from Washington D.C up to Baltimore within short periods of time. They would transmit these messages from a device called the telegraph during the Civil War period. The reason why it’s called Morse CODE is because only a few people in the whole world knew how to translate the message from a few dots and dashes to whole sentences and send a message back. The reason for this is because morse came up with a unique form of his own language using a designated code of dots and dashes.
The code assigned letters in the alphabet and numbers a set of dots (short marks) and dashes (long marks) based on the frequency of use. The code used the English alphabet but they would make the more frequently used letters into the less complex dots and dashes, such as E or A. While the Less frequently used letters such as D or Z got a lot more complex code of dots and dashes. Initially, the code, when transmitted over the telegraph system, was rendered as marks on a piece of paper that the telegraph operator would then translate back into English. Rather quickly. But then the operators became so good at translating the …show more content…

Morse code has even been employed as an assistive technology, helping people with a variety of disabilities to communicate. Morse can be sent by persons with severe motion disabilities, as long as they have some minimal motor control. Morse code remains popular with amateur radio operators around the world. It is also commonly used for emergency signals. It can be sent in a variety of ways with improvised devices that can be switched easily on and off, such as flashlights. The following is the key they use today in order to translate across the

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