Posted by Jon on April 13, 2001 at 13:32:51 from 199.158.80.11:
In Reply to: Re: Electricity at Holly Howe? posted by Pete G on April 12, 2001 at 14:23:48:
"one spark on the top of another" doesn't equate to identical sources, just point light sources, which could be torches, oil lamps, lanterns, candles, . . . as seen from the distant observatory. The inside walls of the "observatory" were unfinished native stone and not, therefore, very reflective, while the rooms in Holly Howe were finished and more reflective of omnidirectional lighting like a lantern or oil lamp, thus leaving the entire window aglow. If the premise is that the entire lower room was illuminated from the lamp there, and an oil lantern was producing a similar amount of light in an upper room, the task of sending Morse with the lantern would be extremely difficult, as the entire window would need to be covered to cause a black/off interval. The light source for the Morse had to have been a small, or easily controlled, light source. That leaves either an electric torch, or a candle which could be easily hidden. Even quite small light sources are visible from a great distance in the dark, as witness the LED flashlights using button cells and boasting visibility of up to 2 miles, so the visibility of the lights isn't an indication of the area the light may be illuminating locally.
"Note 'their torch' (singular)" - well, they were only whirling one light source. Having confirmed contact, the Swallows wanted to exchange some real information. The initial response was from the first available torch, during which time I visualize much frantic scurryig around to locate another, fresher, light source since they knew the torch which they were using was worn.