Morse Code

Morse code is a method for transmitting information, using standardized sequences of short and long marks or pulses - commonly known as "dots and dashes" - for the letters, numerals and special characters of a message. Originally created for Samuel Morse's electric telegraph in the mid-1830s, it was also extensively used for early radio communication beginning in the 1890s. However, with the development of more advanced communications technologies, the use of Morse Code is now largely obsolete, although it is still employed for a few specialized purposes, including navigational radio beacons, and by CW amateur radio operators. Morse code is the only digital modulation mode designed to be easily read by humans without a computer, making it appropriate for sending automated digital data in voice channels.

Morse code can be transmitted in a number of ways: originally as electrical pulses along a telegraph wire, but also as an audio tone, as a radio signal with short and long pulses or tones, or as a mechanical or visual signal (e.g. a flashing light). Because Morse code is transmitted using just two states - on and off - it was an early form of a digital code.

International Morse Code is composed of six elements:

1. short mark or dot (·)
2. longer mark or dash (-)
3. intra-character gap (between the dots and dashes in a character)
4. short gap (between letters)
5. medium gap (between words)
6. long gap (between sentences)

Morse Code Alphabet
A  .--	N  -.	0  -----
B  -...	O  ---	1  .----
C  -.-.	P  .--.	2  ..---
D  -..	Q  --.-	3  ...--
E  .	R  .-.	4  ....-
F  ..-.	S  ...	5  .....
G  --.	T  -	6  -....
H  ....	U  ..-	7  --...
I  ..	V  ...-	8  ---..
J  .---	W  .---	9  ----.
K  -.-	X  -..-	Full stop  .-.-.-
L  .-..	Y  -.--	Comma  --..--
M  --	Z  --..	Query  ..--..

Probably the most famous of the Morse Code sequences is that of the SOS (serious distress message and request for urgent assistance). Using the chart above, you can see that a SOS can be sent by the sequence ...---... over and over.