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The Genius of Invention

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Examining the inventions behind the electrical, transport and communication revolutions.

Examining the inventions that led to the electrical, the transport and the communication revolutions that shaped the modern world.

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The Genius of Invention: Original Series

Michael Mosley

Mark Miodownik

Cassie Newland

Michael Tuft

Dominic Crossley-Holland

The Genius of Invention: Original Series: Episode 3: Communication

Communication

Episode 3

Episode 3: Communication

Original Series

BBC Two - The Genius of Invention, Original Series, Communication

The genesis of the machines that allow us to talk to one another across the globe.

Michael Mosley tells the amazing story of the invention of the electric telegraph, the telephone and wireless communication and how they have changed our lives.

Nothing has shrunk the globe more than our extraordinary ability to talk to one another across the oceans and continents. Episode three of The Genius of Invention reveals the fascinating chain of events that made such every-day miracles possible. It tells the story of the handful of extraordinary inventors and inventions who helped build the modern world by harnessing electricity and electromagnetism to enable us to send instant messages across vast distances. 

Coming from the BT National Network Control Centre in Shropshire, Michael Mosley and academics, Prof Mark Miodownik and Dr Cassie Newland tell the amazing story of three more of the greatest and most transformative inventions of all time; the electric telegraph, the telephone and wireless communication.

Our experts explain how these inventions came about by sparks of inventive genius and steady incremental improvements. They separate myth from reality in the lives of the great inventors and celebrate some of the most remarkable stories in British history.

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