To end my AP Physics 2 Class, a final project was required. So I searched around to find a suitable project. Eventually, I remembered reading about the early days of
radio, and recalled reading about how a simple glass tube filled with iron filings, called a coherer, functioned as rudementary radio recieiver. Normally,
the glass tube would act as an insulator, but When radio waves would
hit the tube, the iron filings would stick together--coher--and start to conduct electricity. By putting this device in a circuit, a Radio reciever could be made.
This type of recieiver was the type used to transmit the first signals across the atlantic ocean by Guglielmo Marconi. So with this plan in mind, I
set about making the vintage radio. In addition to presenting physics principles, I also wanted to practice my woodworking skills, so I tried to make the
wooden support structure as "artistic" as possible.
The transmitter is also relatively simple in design. The transmitter consists of a device that makes sparks of high voltage electricity. Because of this, the
transmitter could even be a barbeque lighter. However, the transmitter I built was slightly more complex than this.
