This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Specimen of early telegraph cables laid in Birmingham in 1856, unearthed in 1898, unknown maker, British, 1856. 12 gutta-percha covered copper wires, each wire being around 1.67mm in diameter, making it most likely a No. 16 gauge wire of the period. The gutta-percha covering makes each wire 5.6mm in diameter
Specimen of early telegraph cables laid in Birmingham in 1856, unearthed in 1898, unknown maker, British, 1856.
This cable sample was taken from a telegraph cable laid in Birmingham in 1856 and unearthed in 1898. It consists of 12 copper wires, insulated with gutta percha, which is a rubber-like substance with good insulating properties.
On display
Science Museum: Information Age Gallery: Cable
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Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1923-279
- Materials:
- copper (metal) and gutta-percha
- type:
- cable
- taxonomy:
-
- credit:
- Donated by the Institution of Electrical Engineers
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