Total cable length3.2 million m
266,667Telephone poles
5.7 quadrillionSalt crystals
160,000Grain silo heights
Ireland to Newfoundland
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Transatlantic Telegraph Cable (1858)
The first cable to electrically connect Europe and North America/Historical
The first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858, connecting Valentia Island, Ireland to Heart's Content, Newfoundland. The cable stretched approximately 3,200 km across the Atlantic Ocean floor. It consisted of seven copper wires insulated with gutta-percha, wrapped in tarred hemp and armored with iron wire. The cable was about 1.6 cm in diameter. It functioned for only three weeks before failing, but proved the concept was viable. A permanent cable was completed in 1866.
Measurements
Cable diameter1.6 hundredths m
1.6 hundredthsTuba heights
18.8 millionGlucose molecules
8.4 hundredthsNo. 2 pencils
Including armor winding
Total cable mass2.5 million kg
54.5 millionGolf balls
92,593Dalmatian dogs
83,333Labrador retrievers
Approximately 2,500 tonnes
Copper core diameter1.6 thousandths m
1.9 millionthsBurj Khalifas
1 hundredthsKindle heights
Seven-strand copper conductor
Maximum ocean depth crossed4,600 m
230,000Acorn lengths
3,172Broomstick lengths
15.3 millionGrains of salt
Deepest point along the route
Mass per meter7.8 tenths kg
2.9 hundredthsDalmatian dogs
1.2 hundredthsCouches
780 billionSkin cells
Linear density of cable