Part 4/11:
Thompson effectively applied Fourier’s model to electrical signals, arguing that the diffusion of voltage and current through cables resembled the diffusion of heat in a rod. His two major breakthroughs included modeling cables as systems of resistance and capacitance and demonstrating that voltage and current propagation could be mathematically represented via the heat equation. However, implications of higher frequencies traveling faster while attenuating more rapidly posed a challenge, ultimately leading to the practical failure of the first transatlantic cable.
On August 16, 1858, the first transatlantic message took 16.5 hours to transmit, and when the cable failed, it highlighted the necessity of understanding these diffusion dynamics in signal transmission.