Morse

Morse refers primarily to Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872), an American painter and inventor who helped pioneer long-distance electrical communication. In collaboration with Alfred Vail, Morse developed an electrical telegraph system and a coded signaling method now known as Morse code. The first successful demonstration of a working telegraph and code occurred in the 1830s, and by the 1840s a practical system was in commercial use, inaugurating a new era of rapid, long-range communication.

Morse code encodes characters as sequences of short signals, or dots, and long signals, or dashes. Each letter, numeral, and punctuation mark is represented by a unique pattern, enabling messages to be transmitted over telegraph wires or via radio with relatively simple equipment. Several versions exist; the International Morse code, standardized by the ITU, is the most widely used today, while the historical American Morse code was used in the United States in the 19th century. Operators also use spacing conventions and prosigns to separate letters, words, and to indicate the end of a message.

The influence of Morse and Morse code extended beyond telegraphy into journalism, commerce, and radio communication. Although modern digital technologies have largely supplanted telegraphs, Morse code remains a symbol of early telecommunications and is still used in some amateur radio and emergency signaling contexts.