ARTi
The Victorian miracle of the first transatlantic cable

The undersea internet cables

Chapter 1

Anatomy of a deep-sea cable

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 2

The pioneer era of undersea wires

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 3

How to lay a cable across an ocean

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 4

Sharks, anchors, and deep-sea espionage

View / Create

Answer

Chapter 5

Geopolitics, tech giants, and the future

View / Create

Answer

YOUR GOAL

Master of The undersea internet cables

Ch 2 · The pioneer era of undersea wires
steve

steve The Victorian miracle of the first transatlantic cable

Jul 25

steve

steve Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

Across the deep, across the deep / A copper spark is waking up the world

Jul 25

steve

steve The giant ship that wired the world

Jul 25

steve
The giant ship that wired the world

steve The SS Great Eastern, the largest ship of its era, successfully laid the first permanent transatlantic cable in 1866.

Jul 25

steve
Gutta-percha and the natural plastic revolution

steve The Victorian cables were insulated using gutta-percha, the evaporated sap of trees native to Southeast Asia.

Jul 25

steve
Salty Sparks
BETA

steve Connect undersea cables to discover how the global internet crosses the ocean.

Jul 25

steve
Fun Fact

The first message: The historic 1858 transatlantic telegraph message from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan took over 17 hours to transmit because the signal was incredibly weak.

Jul 25

steve
Glossary
telegraph (noun)
A system for transmitting messages from a distance along a wire, especially by creating electrical signals. In 1858, Queen Victoria sent the first transatlantic message to President James Buchanan via a seafloor cable.

Jul 25

steve
Gossip

Would you have invested in the risky 1858 cable?

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

In what year was TAT-8, the first transatlantic fiber-optic cable, put into service?

Jul 25

steve

steve Gutta-percha and the natural plastic revolution

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

In what year was the first, short-lived transatlantic telegraph cable successfully completed?

Jul 25

steve

steve From copper clicks to beams of light

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

How long did it take to send the very first transatlantic telegraph message in 1858?

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

Which famous historical figure sent the first official transatlantic telegraph message to a US President?

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

How many simultaneous phone calls could the first transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1) carry in 1956?

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

What was the name of the massive ship that successfully laid the first lasting transatlantic cable in 1866?

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

Which tree sap was used as the essential underwater insulator for 19th-century telegraph cables?

Jul 25

steve
Quiz

Who was the American businessman who spent years championing and financing the first transatlantic cable projects?

Jul 25