ABSTRACT
In 1864, Maxwell put forth the claim that the atmosphere contained electromagnetic impulses that traveled at the speed of light. He did not think the impulses had any practical value. Thirty years later, Marconi transmitted electromagnetic impulses without wires. In 1906, a procedure for transforming electronic impulses into sounds was developed, and "[b ]y 1914 the world of 'amateur wireless' was a world of lively activity" (Briggs 1977:58). In 1923 there were over five hundred radio stations in the United States, with an estimated audience of two million. Within a decade after the invention of the transistor radio in 1948, radio listening achieved worldwide universality. Today more people listen to radio than read newspapers or watch television.
