Exhibitions

The Photophone

June 1, 1981 – December 1, 1981

National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC

1st Floor, Physical Sciences (Observatory)

See on Map Floor Plan

Early photophones were used to transmit sound via a light beam. This technology has been combined with fiber optics to make light wave communication commercially feasible. The 1880 photophone invented by Alexander Graham Bell is included in the display. Visitors can speak and hear themselves over an operational model. Free pamphlet Curatorial Contact: Electricity and Modern Physics