# Morse code

By [xWhiteOuroboros](https://paragraph.com/@xwhiteouroboros) · 2024-04-15

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**Morse code** is a method used in [telecommunication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunication) to [encode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_encoding) [text](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Written_language) characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called _dots_ and _dashes_, or _dits_ and _dahs_.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#cite_note-Beechey-1876-3)[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#cite_note-Camm-1941-4) Morse code is named after [Samuel Morse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Morse), one of the early developers of the system adopted for [electrical telegraphy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_telegraph).

**International Morse code** encodes the 26 [basic Latin letters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_basic_Latin_alphabet) **a** to **z**, one [accented](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritic) Latin letter (**é**), the [Arabic numerals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals), and a small set of punctuation and procedural signals ([prosigns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosigns_for_Morse_code)). There is no distinction between upper and lower case letters.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#cite_note-ITU-R-M-1677-1) Each Morse code symbol is formed by a sequence of _dits_ and _dahs_. The _dit_ duration can vary for signal clarity and operator skill, but for any one message, once established it is the basic unit of time measurement in Morse code. The duration of a _dah_ is three times the duration of a _dit_ (although some telegraphers deliberately exaggerate the length of a _dah_ for clearer signalling). Each _dit_ or _dah_ within an encoded character is followed by a period of signal absence, called a _space_, equal to the _dit_ duration. The letters of a word are [separated by](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delimiter) a space of duration equal to three _dits_, and words are separated by a space equal to seven _dits_.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#cite_note-ITU-R-M-1677-1)[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#cite_note-TR-Paris-1949-5)[\[a\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#cite_note-7)

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*Originally published on [xWhiteOuroboros](https://paragraph.com/@xwhiteouroboros/morse-code)*