The siphon recorder works on the principle of a
d'Arsonval galvanometer. A light coil of wire is suspended between the poles of a
permanent magnet so it can turn freely. The coil is attached via two wire linkages to the metal plate siphon support, which pivots on a horizontal suspension thread. From this plate a narrow glass siphon tube hangs down vertically with its end almost touching a paper tape. The paper tape is pulled by motorized rollers at a constant speed under the siphon pen. Ink is drawn up from a reservoir into the tube by
siphon action and comes out a tiny orifice in the end of the siphon tube, drawing a line down the moving paper tape. In order not to affect the motion of the coil, the siphon tube itself never touches the paper, only the ink. The current from the telegraph line is applied to the coil. The pulses of current representing the
Morse code "dots" and "dashes" flowing through the coil create a
magnetic field which interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet, creating a
torque which causes the coil to rotate slightly about its vertical suspension axis. The wire linkages cause the siphon support plate to rotate about its horizontal axis, swinging the siphon tube across the paper tape. This draws a displacement in the ink line on the tape as long as the current is present in the coil. Thus the ink line on the tape forms a graph of the current in the telegraph line, with displacements representing the "dots" and "dashes" of the Morse code. An operator knowing Morse code later translates the line on the tape to characters of the text message, and types them onto a telegram form. == Kelvin's electrostatic syphon ==