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Chapter One HISTORY

A lexander Graham Bell had a over long distances, yet no one was using his “electrical speech” machine. It’s not that there was something wrong with Bell’s telephone. On the contrary—it worked just fine. The problem lay in the thin, weak copper transmission wires that connected the machines to each other. If the distance between the phones was too great, all callers would hear was static. problem. He had just invented an ingenious way to communicate

alloy: mixture of two or more metals. archeologists: scientists who study ancient cultures by examining their material remains, such as buildings, tools, and other artifacts. inorganic: compound of minerals rather than living material. ore: naturally occurring mineral from which metals can by extracted. smelting: the act of separating metal from rock by melting it at high temperatures. tensile strength: capable of being pulled or stretched without breaking. Words to Understand

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