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Meaning of "photophone" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF PHOTOPHONE

photophone  [ˈfəʊtəʊˌfəʊn] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF PHOTOPHONE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Photophone is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES PHOTOPHONE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

photophone

Photophone

The photophone is a telecommunications device which allowed for the transmission of speech on a beam of light. It was invented jointly by Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Charles Sumner Tainter on February 19, 1880, at Bell's laboratory at 1325 L Street in Washington, D.C. Both were later to become full associates in the Volta Laboratory Association, created and financed by Bell. On June 3, 1880, Bell's assistant transmitted a wireless voice telephone message of considerable distance, from the roof of the Franklin School to the window of Bell's laboratory, some 213 meters away. Bell believed the photophone was his most important invention. Of the 18 patents granted in Bell's name alone, and the 12 he shared with his collaborators, four were for the photophone, which Bell referred to as his 'greatest achievement', telling a reporter shortly before his death that the photophone was "the greatest invention ever made, greater than the telephone". The photophone was a precursor to the fiber-optic communication systems which achieved worldwide popular usage starting in the 1980s.

Definition of photophone in the English dictionary

The definition of photophone in the dictionary is a device for the communication of sound on a beam of light. Used to transmit the first ever wireless telephone messages.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH PHOTOPHONE


cellphone
ˈsɛlˌfəʊn
earphone
ˈɪəˌfəʊn
Francophone
ˈfræŋkəʊˌfəʊn
freephone
ˈfriːˌfəʊn
geophone
ˈdʒiːəʊˌfəʊn
gramophone
ˈɡræməˌfəʊn
handphone
ˈhændˌfəʊn
interphone
ˈɪntəˌfəʊn
iPhone
ˈaɪˌfəʊn
megaphone
ˈmɛɡəˌfəʊn
microphone
ˈmaɪkrəˌfəʊn
payphone
ˈpeɪˌfəʊn
pyrophone
ˈpaɪrəʊˌfəʊn
radiophone
ˈreɪdɪəʊˌfəʊn
saxophone
ˈsæksəˌfəʊn
smartphone
ˈsmɑːtˌfəʊn
speakerphone
ˈspiːkəˌfəʊn
sphygmophone
ˈsfɪɡməʊˌfəʊn
telephone
ˈtɛlɪˌfəʊn
visiophone
ˈvɪzɪəʊˌfəʊn

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE PHOTOPHONE

photoperiodically
photoperiodism
photophase
photophil
photophilic
photophilous
photophily
photophobe
photophobia
photophobic
photophonic
photophony
photophore
photophoreses
photophoresis
photopia
photopic
photoplay
photopolymer
photopositive

WORDS THAT END LIKE PHOTOPHONE

alto saxophone
Anglophone
answerphone
camera phone
cameraphone
car phone
cell phone
cellular phone
cellular telephone
Dictaphone
homophone
hone
hydrophone
mobile phone
Persephone
phone
radio microphone
sousaphone
superphone
vibraphone
videophone

Synonyms and antonyms of photophone in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «photophone» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF PHOTOPHONE

Find out the translation of photophone to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of photophone from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «photophone» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

photophone
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

fotófono
570 millions of speakers

English

photophone
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

photophone
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

photophone
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

фотофон
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

photophone
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

photophone
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

photophone
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Photophone
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Photophon
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

photophone
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

photophone
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Photophone
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

photophone
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

போட்டோபோனின்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

फोटोफोन
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

PHOTOPHONE
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

fotofono
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

photophone
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

фотофон
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

PHOTOPHONE
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

photophone
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

Photo Phone
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

photophone
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

photophone
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of photophone

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «PHOTOPHONE»

The term «photophone» is normally little used and occupies the 117.139 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
45
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «photophone» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of photophone
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «photophone».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «PHOTOPHONE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «photophone» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «photophone» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about photophone

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PHOTOPHONE»

Discover the use of photophone in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to photophone and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Optics
27.1 The diagram of the Photophone; this has been taken from Alexander Graham Bell's 1880 paper "On the Production and Reproduction of Sound by Light", American Journal of Sciences, Third Series, vol. XX, #118, pp. 305 - 324, October ...
Ajoy Chatak, 2009
2
Network World
... and stored on 3.5-in. i floppy diskette. I — I Image printed on laser printer. Image Data's Photophone supports most E-mail and desktop publishing packages, enabling users to integrate images with text over a network connection .
3
Television: An International History of the Formative Years
Although Bell was the first person to construct a photophone in 1880, the concept dates from June 1878. In that month a letter30 appeared in the journal Nature, signed by aJ F W, stating that the writer had looked in vain for any account 'of ...
R. W. Burns, 1998
4
Fiber Optics Primer
For example, an unsigned editorial in the New York Times on August 30, 1880 allowed that while members of the AAAS might understand the photophone's operation, "The ordinary man . . . may find a little difficulty in comprehending how  ...
IGIC, Inc. Staff, 1994
5
Optical Networking Best Practices Handbook
He named his experimental device the photophone. In other words, the photophone used free-space light to carry the human voice 200 meters. Specifically placed mirrors reflected sunlight onto a diaphragm attached within the mouthpiece of ...
John R. Vacca, 2006
6
Alexander Graham Bell: Giving Voice to the World
By late 1879, Alexander and Mabel were living in Washington, D.C. It was there that Bell started working on the photophone with a young man named Sumner Tainter. Together, they built their light-powered phone using mirrors, lenses, and an ...
Mary Kay Carson, 2007
7
God's Instrument of His Imagination
That was the Photophone!! On June 3, 1880, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first wireless telephone message on his newly invented "photophone." Bell believed the photophone was his most important invention. The device allowed for ...
Marion Glessner, 2008
8
Fiber Optics Illustrated Dictionary
In December 1880, Bell and Tainter received the first patent on the Photophone ( U.S. #235,496). For a while the invention was known as a radiophone. In 1937, the packet delivered to the Smithsonian was opened, revealing the Photophone ...
J.K. Petersen, 2002
9
LIFE
Hence, ultra-violet light recording used by RCA Photophone marks a great advance in motion picture sound. In spite of the amazing perfection of today's Photophone sound, search for better methods goes on unceasingly in RCA Laboratories.
10
Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York ...
Ownership of the new organization was divided on a 50–30–20 basis among RCA, GE, and Westing- house.109 Unlike De Forest's Phonofilm operation, RCA Photophone was very well capitalized and could take full advantage of its ...
Richard Koszarski, 2008

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PHOTOPHONE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term photophone is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Book reviews: Life's Engines and A New History of Life
Bell used the photophone to transmit a wireless voice telephone message 700 feet, and considered it to be his greatest invention. And perhaps ... «The Australian Financial Review, Jul 15»
2
The New D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Meme: CONDOS!
... homeless shelter, the headquarters to the D.C. Public School administration, and was the site of Alexander Graham Bell's photophone tests. «Curbed DC, May 15»
3
D.C. to tempt foreign investors with Franklin School opportunity
... it has served as a school, as home to the D.C. Public School administration, as the site of Alexander Graham Bell's "photophone" tests, and, ... «Washington Business Journal, Mar 15»
4
Franklin School competition reopened as D.C. formally cancels …
In its 145 years, it has served as a school, as home to D.C. Public School administration, as the site of Alexander Graham Bell's "photophone" ... «Washington Business Journal, Feb 15»
5
Alexander Graham Bell: 5 Facts on the Father of the Telephone
After the telephone, Bell went on to develop an array of interesting inventions. Bell created the photophone, which used light to transmit sound. «Biography, Jan 15»
6
Remembering telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell
Bell laid the foundation for wireless telephone communication with the invention of the Photophone, which he co-invented with his assistant ... «Mid-Day, Jan 15»
7
Cape Breton celebrates Celtic music
... dreamed up inventions more suited to the 21st century than the 19th: a photophone that sent messages on a ray of sunlight, massive manned ... «Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Oct 14»
8
Historic Star Court Theatre closes doors for "rejuvenation"
With the arrival of sound in 1929, the theatre announced an upgrade to be equipped with RCA Photophone and the entire theatre was ... «Northern Star, Sep 14»
9
Let there be Li-Fi: Meet the man who's bringing connectivity to the …
Among these were the photophone, a wireless telephone of sorts that enabled sounds (including speech) to be transmitted via light. It's said ... «The Next Web, Aug 14»
10
New book on Aberdour's links with WW1 research station
... from one of the key researchers, and also a working demonstration of a photophone similar to the one that was developed at the naval station ... «Fife Today, Aug 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Photophone [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/photophone>. Apr 2024 ».
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