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59-586: The Gutta Percha Company was an English company formed in 1845 to make a variety of products from the recently introduced natural rubber gutta-percha . Unlike other natural rubbers , this material was thermoplastic allowing it to be easily moulded . Nothing else like it was available to manufacturing until well into the twentieth century when synthetic plastics were developed. Gutta-percha proved to be an ideal insulator for submarine telegraph cables . The company started making this type of cable in 1848 and it rapidly became their main product, on which it had

118-423: A polymer of isoprene , or polyisoprene , specifically ( trans -1,4-polyisoprene). The cis structure of polyisoprene is the common latex elastomer . While latex rubbers are amorphous in molecular structure, gutta-percha (the trans structure) crystallizes , leading to a more rigid material. It exists in alpha and beta forms, with the alpha form being brittle at room temperature. Long before gutta-percha

177-549: A 2-mile (3.2 km) length for experiment. South Eastern Railway, in collaboration with the Submarine Telegraph Company , wished to extend their telegraph line through to France. The cable was successfully tested off Folkestone from the ship Princess Clementine with messages sent through the cable to London. The railway afterwards used the cable in a wet railway tunnel. This trial was followed in 1849 by an order for 25 nautical miles (46 km) of cable from

236-535: A conductor seamlessly. Hancock's machine was an adaptation of Bewley's tube extruding machine. However, Hancock denied Bewley the right to use the machine. The dispute resulted in Hancock leaving and setting up the rival West Ham Gutta Percha Company. Hancock lost the dispute in court and his company went bankrupt. The first order for gutta-percha electrical cable came in 1848 from the South Eastern Railway for

295-403: A joint had been omitted in the underground cable between South Foreland and Dover. Telegraph communication between Britain and France was established for the first time on 15 October. In October, the steam tug Red Rover was tasked with replacing the temporary cable with a new section of armoured cable. Red Rover's first attempt was abandoned after running into bad weather. Trying again, it

354-501: A mile (1.6 km) before reaching Sangatte. As a temporary measure, a length of unarmoured cable used for the underground link from Sangatte to Calais was spliced on to enable the ocean cable to be landed. The telegraph station on the English side was in a private house in Dover. At first, they could not contact France, but soon discovered that the problem was not with the submarine cable. Rather

413-484: A monopoly on this product, and the cores for nearly all submarine cables made before 1865 were made by them. The Gutta Percha Company never made finished cables; they supplied the cores and other companies, mostly wire rope manufacturers, laid them into the steel armouring to make complete cables. In April 1864, the Gutta Percha Company merged with Glass, Elliot and Company , one of these wire rope makers, to form

472-409: A much improved cable. The core of the new cable, again made by the Gutta Percha Company, was to have four conductors, substantially increasing the potential traffic, and insulated with gutta-percha as before. However, the four separate insulated conductors were not laid into a single cable by the Gutta Percha Company. This task was given to a wire-rope making company, Wilkins and Wetherly, who armoured

531-499: A near monopoly. The world's first international telegraph connection under the sea, a link from Dover to Calais in 1851, used a cable made by the company. Except for a few early ones, submarine cables were armoured with iron, then later steel, wires. The Gutta Percha Company made only the insulated cores, not the complete cable, until April 1864 when it merged into the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company , which

590-431: A patent for bottle stoppers made from gutta-percha. The company was formed on 4 February 1845 by partners Charles Hancock and Henry Bewley, a Dublin chemist making soda water , initially to make Hancock's bottle stoppers. Their premises were at Wharf Road, Islington , London. The range of products was soon greatly expanded, and included machine belts , shoe soles, and toys. However, one of their most important products

649-504: A problem not fully solved on submarine cables until loading started to be used at the beginning of the 20th century. Both ends of the communication assumed that the messages did not make sense because the other end was in the midst of drunken celebrations of their success. It was decided to try again in the morning. During the night the cable failed. Initial reports stated that cable was damaged where it passed over rocks near Cap Gris Nez, but later French fishermen were blamed. The cable

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708-411: A submarine cable, such as hemp impregnated with tar, were tested by Charles Wheatstone who had suggested a cable between England and France as early as 1840. None of these schemes were successful. Wheatstone had looked at gutta-percha but could not find a good way of applying it to the conductor. On hearing of this possible application for gutta-percha, Hancock designed a machine for applying it to

767-405: A white corolla with four to seven (mostly six) acute lobes. The fruit is an ovoid 3–7 cm (1–3 in) berry, containing one to four seeds; in many species, the fruit is edible. In Australia, gutta-percha is a common name specifically used for the euphorbiaceous tree Excoecaria parvifolia , which yields an aromatic, heavy, dark-brown timber. Chemically, gutta-percha is a polyterpene ,

826-489: Is added to reduce brittleness and improve plasticity. Barium sulfate is added to provide radiopacity so that its presence and location can be verified in dental X-ray images. Gutta-percha remained an industrial staple well into the 20th century, when it was gradually replaced with superior synthetic materials, such as Bakelite . A similar and cheaper natural material called balatá was often used in gutta-percha's place. The two materials are almost identical, and balatá

885-425: Is likely a derivative amalgamation of the original native names. Palaquium gutta trees are 5–30 metres (20–100 ft) tall and up to 1 m (3 ft) in trunk diameter. The leaves are evergreen , alternate or spirally arranged, simple, entire, 8–25 cm (3–10 in) long, glossy green above, and often yellow or glaucous below. The flowers are produced in small clusters along the stems, each flower with

944-573: Is often called gutta-balatá . Submarine Telegraph Company The Submarine Telegraph Company was a British company which laid and operated submarine telegraph cables . Jacob and John Watkins Brett formed the English Channel Submarine Telegraph Company to lay the first cable across the English Channel . An unarmoured cable with gutta-percha insulation was laid in 1850. The recently introduced gutta-percha

1003-404: Is still found in modern sources, it is likely apocryphal. The Bretts managed to renew their concession with a new date for establishing communication of October 1851. The company was reformed as the Submarine Telegraph Company in order to raise new capital. The largest investor was railway engineer Thomas Russell Crampton , who was put in charge of ordering the new cable. Crampton specified

1062-485: The Rhine in 1847 and Kiel Harbour in 1848, but this was the first working undersea cable to link two countries. Early submarine cables had numerous quality problems. The insulation was not applied evenly leading to variations in the cable diameter and shape. The conductor was not held on the centreline of the insulation, in places coming close to the surface making it easy for the conductor to become exposed. The insulation

1121-479: The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company who could supply completed cables and provide maintenance for them. The merger was at the instigation of John Pender who became chairman of the company. Pender's motivation in this was that the new company should make the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable for the Atlantic Telegraph Company . The quality of gutta-percha, as supplied by

1180-428: The electrical resistance of the material until the content reaches a threshold of around 2–3%. Highly purified gutta-percha is almost entirely resistant to chemical attack and ingress of water. However, obtaining this level of purity was not economical for submarine cables. Impure gutta-percha oxidises and becomes brittle. The rate of deterioration is very slow for cable permanently in the water, but cable crossing

1239-436: The 19th century. The use in electrical cables generated a huge demand which led to unsustainable harvesting and collapse of supply. Gutta-percha latex is biologically inert , resilient, and is a good electrical insulator with a high dielectric strength . Michael Faraday discovered its value as an insulator soon after the introduction of the material to Britain in 1843. Allowing this fluid to evaporate and coagulate in

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1298-454: The Gutta Percha Company had a high sulphur content. This, together with poor joints and poor manufacturing by Siemens, caused many of the early Siemens cables to quickly fail. Gutta-percha The word "gutta-percha" comes from the plant's name in Malay : getah translates as 'sticky gum' and pertja ( perca ) is the name of a less-sought-after gutta tree. The western term therefore

1357-489: The Gutta Percha Company's product. Gutta-percha from different regions contains different amounts of resin, resulting in variations in quality. For electrical cables, the resin content needs to be minimal. The best gutta-percha came from Java and Makassar , the worst came from Borneo . The factory purification process could also make a difference. A good commercial gutta-percha would have around 80% gutta and 15% or less of resin. Water content has no appreciable effect on

1416-474: The Gutta Percha Company, was extensively discussed by Charles Bright in his book Submarine Telegraphs . Bright's father, Charles Tilston Bright , was the chief electrician (chief engineer) of the Magnetic Telegraph Company , a major customer of the Gutta Percha Company, and later electrician-in-chief of the first transatlantic telegraph cable project of the Atlantic Telegraph Company , also using

1475-471: The Submarine Telegraph Company to lay a cable from Dover to Calais . This cable, laid in 1850, soon failed, largely because the Submarine Telegraph Company failed to have it armoured . Undeterred, the company placed a new order in 1850, but this time the cable was to be sent to a wire rope manufacturer for armouring before laying. This order was four times as large as the 1849 order since

1534-511: The West. He was the first to appreciate the potential of this material in medicine, and he was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Society of Arts, London in 1843. Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural thermoplastic . In 1851, 30,000  long cwt (1,500 t) of gutta-percha was imported into Britain. During the second half of the 19th century, gutta-percha

1593-812: The cable in 1900; CW and the Science Museum, London did the same on the 100th anniversary in 1950. In 1847, the Bretts obtained a concession from the French government to lay and operate a submarine telegraph cable across the Channel. The concession lapsed without anything being achieved. A proof of principle was conducted in 1849 by Charles Vincent Walker of the South Eastern Railway Company using gutta-percha insulated cable. Gutta-percha, recently introduced by William Montgomerie for making medical equipment,

1652-581: The cable still had to be manually hauled to a wharf on the Thames . This was a difficult task which had to frequently be halted to tie back protruding broken iron wires. At the Thames, the cable was loaded on to the Blazer , a hulk loaned to the Submarine Telegraph Company by the government. The cable was laid between South Foreland and Sangatte by Blazer under tow from two tugs on 25 September 1851. The cable ran out

1711-455: The cable with an outer layer of helically laid iron wires. Production was halted for a time due to a dispute with R.S. Newall and Company of Gateshead. Newall had a patent for manufacturing wire rope with a soft core to make it more flexible, and claimed that this submarine cable breached that patent. The issue was resolved by allowing Newall to take over production of the cable at Wilkins and Wetherly's Wapping premises. The completed cable

1770-457: The human body. It is used in a variety of surgical devices and during root canal therapy. It is the predominant material used to obturate , or fill, the empty space inside the root of a tooth after it has undergone endodontic therapy . Its physical and chemical properties, including its inertness and biocompatibility , melting point , ductility , and malleability , make it important in endodontics , e.g., as gutta-percha points. Zinc oxide

1829-533: The information to his brother Werner von Siemens . In 1847 Werner invented a machine, described as like a macaroni machine, for applying gutta-percha to a conductor seamlessly. His company, Siemens & Halske , then laid underground gutta-percha cables extensively around Germany, including one that crossed the Rhine in 1849. However, the Gutta Percha Company were the first to make a cable that crossed an ocean. The Gutta Percha Company does not appear to have had any intellectual property issues with Siemens. This

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1888-419: The insulation was to prove problematic for underwater cables as it provided a route for the ingress of water. Gutta-percha made possible practical submarine telegraph cables because it was both waterproof and resistant to seawater as well as being thermoplastic. Gutta-percha's use as an electrical insulator was first suggested by Michael Faraday after he tested a sample. Many possible insulation schemes for

1947-470: The landing zone is exposed to frequent changes in temperature and cycles of exposure and submerging. This environment could cause the insulation to crumble and expose the conductor. For this reason, these sections of cable were protected with an additional layer of another material such as India rubber . Additives to the gutta-percha could greatly affect quality. The material supplied for the Siemens cables by

2006-490: The manufacturing plant in Greenwich to Dover in short lengths which were then spliced together onto a single drum. Winding the cable onto the drum took some time. The individual lengths were retested in water at Dover quayside and repaired as necessary before joining on the drum. Unattended cable suffered from the attentions of souvenir hunters who cut off pieces, or stripped the insulation to confirm to themselves that there

2065-569: The material is obtained are native. Montgomerie sent samples to the Society of Arts in London in 1843 with the idea that the material could be used for medical apparatus. In 1844, Montgomerie left samples with Charles Mackintosh 's raincoat company. A partner in the company, Thomas Hancock , passed samples to his brother Charles who was trying to invent a new bottle stopper made from cemented ground cork. Hancock then abandoned his original idea and took out

2124-457: The new cable was to have four gutta-percha insulated cores. This cable was a success, and became the first working oceanic submarine cable. Although the Gutta Percha Company were the first to make a cable for crossing an ocean, they were not the first to make a gutta-percha insulated underwater cable. Faraday published his suggestion in 1848, but had previously privately recommended gutta-percha to William Siemens of Siemens Brothers who passed

2183-401: The same year, the Bretts had the Channel concession renewed for ten years, but only on condition that communication was established by September 1850. The English Channel Submarine Telegraph Company was formed to carry out this task. The Gutta Percha Company was contracted to manufacture the cable. A paddle tug , Goliath was chartered for cable laying. Goliath transported the cable from

2242-445: The sun produced a latex which could be made flexible again with hot water, but which did not become brittle, unlike rubber prior to the discovery of vulcanization . By 1845, telegraph wires insulated with gutta-percha were being manufactured in the UK. It served as the insulating material for early undersea telegraph cables, including the first transatlantic telegraph cable . The material

2301-592: The telegraph from Dover to fire a cannon in Calais. In reply, Calais fired a cannon in Dover Castle . The opening had again missed the French government deadline, but the concession was nevertheless renewed on 23 October for ten years from that date. The cable remained in service with the Submarine Telegraph Company for the lifetime of the company. This was the first undersea submarine cable put into service. Werner von Siemens had used gutta-percha-insulated cable to cross

2360-407: The wire. An even bigger problem was caused by the joints. The copper wire was supplied in short, inconsistent, lengths. Initially on the 1850 cable, joints were attempted by brazing a scarf joint with hard solder . However, the heat from the blowpipe softened the gutta-percha which became plastic and dripped off the cable. An alternative method was therefore used. Two inches of insulation

2419-485: Was 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) long, far longer and heavier than anything the rope makers had previously manufactured, and there was some difficulty getting the cable out of the Wapping premises. There was no easy access and the adjacent business refused permission to cross their property, thinking that electrical apparatus would invalidate their fire insurance. However, a neighbouring business granted access, but

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2478-419: Was a major constituent of Chatterton's compound used as an insulating sealant for telegraph and other electrical cables. The dielectric constant of dried gutta-percha ranges from 2.56 to 3.01. Resistivity of dried gutta-percha ranges from 25 × 10 to 370 × 10  Ω⋅cm . Since about 1940, polyethylene has supplanted gutta-percha as an electrical insulator. In the mid-19th century, gutta-percha

2537-424: Was a natural rubber that was found to be ideal for insulating ocean cables. Walker laid two miles (3.2 km) of the cable from the ship Princess Clementine off the coast of Folkestone . With the other end connected to the railway telegraph lines, he successfully sent telegraph messages from the ship to London. At the conclusion of the experiment, South Eastern Railway reused the cable in a wet railway tunnel. In

2596-422: Was banned by The Football Association in the first codified set of rules in 1863. Gutta-percha was briefly used in bookbinding until the advent of vulcanization . The wood of many species is also valuable. Gutta-percha is used as a resist in silk painting, including some newer forms of batik . The same bioinertness that made it suitable for marine cables also means it does not readily react within

2655-535: Was because Siemens' work was largely for military purposes and consequently nothing was patented initially. Siemens even obtained the gutta-percha from the Gutta Percha Company. The cables were not just for military communications, one 1848 cable in Kiel harbour had the overtly military purpose of setting off mines. Gutta-percha insulated core rapidly became the chief product of the company. In 1851–1852 they produced 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km) of it. The company had

2714-530: Was copper inside. It was difficult to wind the cable evenly on the drum because the joints caused bulges and because the manufacturing process did not produce perfectly regular cable. Cotton packing and wooden slats were used to smooth out the unevenness, slowing the process even further. Goliath laid the cable between Dover and Cap Gris Nez in France on 28 August 1850. Unlike later submarine cables, this one had no armouring to protect it. The single copper wire

2773-412: Was discovered that there was no one on board who knew how to find Sangatte. They arrived a day late and missed their rendezvous with HMS Widgeon which was tasked with making the splice at sea. The cable was finally landed and the splice made aboard Widgeon on 19 October. The line was finally open to the public on 19 November 1851. The occasion was marked by setting off an electrical fuse over

2832-514: Was established for the first time in October of that year. This was the first undersea telegraph cable to be put in service anywhere in the world. The Company continued to lay, and operate, more cables between England and the Continent until they were nationalised in 1890. Through a series of mergers they ultimately became part of Cable and Wireless (CW). The Times commemorated the 50th anniversary of

2891-509: Was full of air pockets due to the gutta-percha being applied in one thick coat instead of several thinner coats. All these issues with the insulation caused inconsistencies in the electrical properties of the cable. Quality of the conductor was also inconsistent. The diameter of the copper was variable, again leading to inconsistent electrical properties. There was little experience with annealing long lengths of copper. This resulted in inconsistent mechanical properties with brittle portions in

2950-423: Was gutta-percha insulated electrical cable. Bewley was also a lead pipe maker. He had designed a machine for extruding lead pipes and on the formation of the Gutta Percha Company, he used this machine for extruding gutta-percha tubing. The company did not at first use this machine for insulating electrical cable. The method initially used was to apply strips of gutta-percha to copper wire. The resulting seam in

3009-408: Was hard and durable, though it fell into disuse when synthetic plastics such as Bakelite became available. Gutta-percha was used in canes and walking sticks. In 1856, United States Representative Preston Brooks used a cane made of gutta-percha as a weapon in his attack on Senator Charles Sumner . In the 1860s, gutta-percha was used to reinforce the soles of football players' boots before it

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3068-535: Was introduced into the Western world, it was used in a less-processed form by the natives of the Malaysian archipelago for making knife handles, walking sticks, and other purposes. The first European to study this material was John Tradescant , who collected it in the far east in 1656. He named this material "Mazer wood". William Montgomerie , a medical officer in imperial service, introduced gutta-percha into practical use in

3127-579: Was later acquired by British Insulated Callender's Cables in 1959. Gutta-percha is a natural rubber that has the unusual property (for 19th-century materials) of being thermoplastic . It can be moulded after placing in hot water and will reharden when cool. It was brought to attention in Europe by William Montgomerie , a Scottish surgeon of the East India Company in Singapore where the trees from which

3186-436: Was never put back into service. While it is certainly true that French fishing boats recovered lengths of the cable hauled up in their nets, and in some cases cut the cable to free their gear, it remains unclear if this was the initial cause of the failure. A story circulated much later (from 1865) that the fisherman who initially cut the cable thought it was a new species of seaweed with gold in its centre. Although this story

3245-402: Was protected only by the layer of gutta-percha insulation around it. This made it very light, and it was necessary to attach periodic lead weights to make it sink. Messages sent across the cable were unintelligible due to dispersion of the signal, a phenomenon which was not understood at the time, and would be an even greater problem to the first transatlantic telegraph cable . Dispersion was

3304-399: Was stripped from each end, the exposed wires twisted together and soft soldered . Sheets of gutta-percha heated to a plastic state were then wrapped around the joint and clamped in a mould. This resulted in a cigar-shaped bulge around the joint which was undesirable for cable laying. The Submarine Telegraph Company went on to lay many more cables between Britain and the continent. In 1870

3363-437: Was the first thermoplastic material available to cable makers and was resistant to seawater. This first un armoured cable was a failure and was soon broken either by a French fishing boat or by abrasion on the rocks off the French coast. The Bretts formed a new company, the Submarine Telegraph Company, and laid a new cable in 1851. This cable had multiple conductors and iron wire armouring. Telegraph communication with France

3422-439: Was used for many domestic and industrial purposes, and it became a household word. Gutta-percha was particularly important for the manufacture of underwater telegraph cables . Compared to rubber, it does not degrade in seawater, is not damaged by marine life, and maintains good electrical insulation . These properties, along with its mouldability and flexibility made it ideal for the purpose, with no other material to match it in

3481-667: Was used to make furniture, notably by the Gutta Percha Company , established in 1847. Several of these ornate, revival-style pieces were shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London. The company also made a range of utensils. The " guttie " golf ball (which had a solid gutta-percha core) revolutionized the game. Gutta-percha was used to make "mourning" jewelry, because it was dark in color and could be easily molded into beads or other shapes. Pistol hand grips and rifle shoulder pads were also made from gutta-percha, since it

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