What Does Morse Code Look Like?

Written down, Morse code is groups of dots and dashes, with a space between letters and a slash between words. HELLO WORLD looks like this:

.... . .-.. .-.. --- / .-- --- .-. .-.. -..

Spacing does the work

No space inside a letter: A is .-.
One space between letters.
A slash (/) between words.

Spacing changes the meaning. .. - is I then T, which spells IT, but ..- is the single letter U. Every pattern is on the Morse code chart.

On paper tape

The first telegraphs didn't beep. Morse's early system pressed raised dots and dashes into a moving strip of paper, and an operator decoded it afterward. The Library of Congress holds the tape from the first message, sent from the US Capitol to Baltimore on May 24, 1844.

Operators soon learned to read the clicking of the machine by ear, and sound took over from tape.

As light

Morse can also be flashes: a short flash for a dot, a long one for a dash, and darkness for the gaps. Ship signal lamps work this way, and so does a phone flashlight. The light tool flashes any message on your screen with correct timing.

On jewelry and in photos

Because it's only two shapes, Morse shows up on bracelets, rings and tattoos as dots and bars. If you've found some and want to know what it says, the image decoder can read it from a photo.