The power of radio was demonstrated in 1912 during the sinking of the Titanic. The White Star liner Titanic (American owned but with a British crew), then the largest ship in the world, sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City on the night of 14 April 1912. Dubbed "unsinkablc," the ship symbolized the advances in technology and engineering that made its construction possible. Yet, when another ship signaled the radio operator on the Titanic of the perils of icebergs ahead, he ignored the warnings, signaling back that he was busy with other matters. Soon thereafter, at 11:40 P.M., the ship sideswiped an iceberg in the North Atlantic, its starboard bow plates buckled under the impact, and it began to sink. The 882-foot-long luxury liner, whose eight decks ro*e to the height of an eleven-story building, would...