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[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Letter.jpg|right|frame]]
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Letter.jpg|right|frame]]
A '''letter''' is a written message from one [[person]] to another. The role of letters in [[communication]] has changed significantly since the [http://en.wikipedia.org/19thCentury 19th century]]. Historically, letters (in [[paper]] form) were the only reliable means of communication between two persons in different locations.
A '''letter''' is a written message from one [[person]] to another. The role of letters in [[communication]] has changed significantly since the [http://en.wikipedia.org/19thCentury 19th century]. Historically, letters (in [[paper]] form) were the only reliable means of communication between two persons in different locations.
As communication [[technology]] has diversified, posted letters have become less important as a routine form of communication; they however still remain but in a modified form. For example, the development of the telegraph shortened the time taken to send a letter by transferring the letter as an electrical [[signal]] (for example in [http://en.wikipedia.org/Morsecode Morse code]) between distant points. At the telegraph office closest to the destination for the letter, the signal was transferred back into a hard copy format and sent as a normal mail to the persons [[home]]. This allowed the normal speed of communication to be drastically shortened for larger and larger distances. This required specialized technicians to encode and decode the letter. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/Facsimile facsimile (fax)] [[machine]] took this one step farther and an entire letter could be completely transferred in electronic form from the sender's house to the receiver's home by means of the telephone [[network]] as an image.
As communication [[technology]] has diversified, posted letters have become less important as a routine form of communication; they however still remain but in a modified form. For example, the development of the telegraph shortened the time taken to send a letter by transferring the letter as an electrical [[signal]] (for example in [http://en.wikipedia.org/Morsecode Morse code]) between distant points. At the telegraph office closest to the destination for the letter, the signal was transferred back into a hard copy format and sent as a normal mail to the persons [[home]]. This allowed the normal speed of communication to be drastically shortened for larger and larger distances. This required specialized technicians to encode and decode the letter. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/Facsimile facsimile (fax)] [[machine]] took this one step farther and an entire letter could be completely transferred in electronic form from the sender's house to the receiver's home by means of the telephone [[network]] as an image.