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rods for this purpose. The selenium seemed to do the job properly, except in actual use, the device gave inconsistent results. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the conductivity of the selenium rods increased significantly when exposed to strong light. Smith described his research in a
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Willoughby was the son of
William Smith, a sailor, and his wife, Harriot. He married Ann, daughter of William Sanders, a brewer, at St John's, Waterloo, on 24 June 1849. By 1871 they had three daughters and three sons.
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In 1866, Smith developed a method for continually testing an underwater cable as it was being laid. For his test circuit, he needed a semi-conducting material with a high resistance and selected
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McConnell, A. (10 December 2020). Smith, Willoughby (1828–1891), telegraph engineer. Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 15 Mar. 2021, from
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Selenium, its electrical qualities, and the effect of light thereon : being a paper read before the
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wires. In 1850, Smith superintended the manufacture and laying of 30 miles of underwater telegraph wire from
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paper presented at the 12 February 1873 meeting of the
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Smith died on 17 July 1891 and is buried with his wife Ann on the east side of
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Dictionary of
National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 53, Smith, Willoughby
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214:"Effect of Light on Selenium During the Passage of an Electric Current"
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Selenium: its electrical qualities, and the effect of light thereon
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Electrical
Properties of Selenium and the Effect of Light Thereon
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A résumé of the earlier days of electric telegraphy
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