Just hours after receiving his patent, several other inventors filed for their own patents with the US Patent Office. However, since Bell was the first to submit and receive his patent, he has been upheld over 600 times in court to be the inventor of the telephone.

Bell’s telephone consisted of a coil of wire, a magnetic arm and a taut membrane. Sounds caused the membrane to vibrate, which made the magnetic arm vibrate as well. Such motion induced an electric current in the coil, which could be reconverted into sound by an identical circuit in the receiver.

Telephones are widely used today. Many technological advances, such as automatic switching, cellular phones, and even communications satellites, have brought Bell’s simple invention far into the 21^st century. It is one of the main means of communication in our society.

*Pictures from Encarta Encyclopedia

"Telephone". Microsoft Encarta Electronic Encyclopedia Edition 2002.

• This entry included much about the history of the telephone as well as a brief outline of how the first phone functioned.