THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL INVENTIONS - SCIENCE - 2025

Some of Alexander Graham Bell's most outstanding inventions are the telephone, the totophone, the metal detector, or the hydroplane. Alexander Graham Bell was one of the greatest inventors and scientists the world has ever had. His inventions have brought great advances in communications and aviation technology for decades.

Today it is thought that this scientist was the one who invented the telephone, but it was in 1876 that the patent for the device was obtained, that is, the exclusive rights to put it on the market. Antonio Meucci, an Italian scientist, was the first to develop the device.

Alexander Graham Bell and family.

Alexander's first invention was thanks to the scolding of Ben Herdman's father (his best friend) when he told them why they weren't doing something useful.

Since Ben's family worked in a mill, they had to remove the bark from the wheat and it was a very complicated job.

At the time, at just 12 years old, Alexander created a device that combined rotating paddles with nail brush systems to create a machine that removed the bark from wheat.

In 1875, Alexander and other scientists created the harmonic telegraph, a device that had the purpose of transmitting several simultaneous communications through tones of different frequencies.

From that invention, the idea arose to make another device of better quality and that would provide better communication: the telephone.

After the creation of this device, others arrived that would also change the future of telecommunications and technology.

Metal detectors and hydrofoils are part of these inventions that Alexander Graham Bell showed to the world for his fascination and innovation in later years.

Graham Bell's major inventions

The telephone (market release)

It is a device designed for communication between people. Most phones are easy to use, some are less expensive than others, and almost everyone has one.

Although there are modern phones that have functions for making video calls, long distance calls and applications to talk to people in other parts of the world, there are others that only have text messages and calls.

Some of them have physical keys and are considered outdated, that is, old-fashioned. Others have touch screens that allow easy access to all of the phone's applications and many more functions.

While Antonio Meucci was the original inventor of the telephone, it was Alexander Graham Bell who took all the credit for bringing such an ingenious invention to market.

The photophone

It was a device also invented by Alexander and its objective was to transmit sound, mainly voice, through rays of light.

The photophone was a type of cordless phone that could be communicated over miles and was the greatest advance in fiber optic telecommunications.

The metal detector

Another invention made by Alexander was the metal detector. This became famous in 1881 when trying to find the bullet that killed the then president of the United States, James Garfield.

The device allows detecting metallic objects and is used to search for underground mines, among other possible functions.

The hydrofoil

It is a type of plane that has one or more floats to float and move on the water. Alexander thought that the invention of this device was going to be very important for aeronautics and it was.

Today, hydrofoils are mostly used to transport light things to lakes and other nearby areas.

They are also used for firefighting missions and are almost always ambiguous aircraft, that is, they operate on land and in water.

Hydrofoils can only take flight and land when there are no waves or when they are very small.

New aircraft models

Alexander experimented on several occasions to create airships that were heavier than air and created Silver Dart, an airplane that was a success upon its flight.

This new airplane gave way to the invention of new airplanes and the creation of new technologies with respect to aeronautics.

Throughout his life, Alexander Graham Bell received various awards and honors for his collaborations and inventions.

Among them are: the Volta Prize from the French Academy of Sciences, the Albert medal from the Royal Society of Arts and a doctorate from the University of Würtzburg.

References

1. Biographies of scientists (Unit 9: The digital revolution). Recovered from: Gobiernodecanarias.org
2. Alexander Graham Bell. Recovered from: hrnabrantford.com
3. Borth, D. (nd). Telephone. Recovered from: britannica.com
4. Hochfelder, D. (2017). Alexander Graham Bell. Recovered from: britannica.com.