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Fax machine is an electronic device that sends and receives written words and pictures over telephone lines. The word fax comes from the word facsimile  «fak SIHM uh lee», which means an exact copy or likeness. A fax machine resembles a small copying machine but is equipped with a telephone or connected to one. Most modern fax machines can fit on a desktop.

Fax machines enable people throughout the world to exchange business documents and other printed material in minutes. The cost of sending a fax is based on telephone rates. Many shopping malls, office buildings, airports, and other public places have fax machines that can be used by the public for a small fee.

How a fax machine works. Both the sender and the receiver must have a fax machine. The sender inserts the document into a document feeder and dials the telephone number of the fax machine to which the message is being sent. Once the telephone connection is made, a light-sensitive device scans each page and creates an electric signal corresponding to the light and dark spots on the page. This signal is coded and sent over telephone lines to the receiving fax machine. That machine uses the signal to create an exact duplicate of the original page, and prints it out.

Portable fax machines work in the same manner as regular fax machines. But they are connected to cellular telephones, which send messages via radio waves.

Multifunction fax machines. Some fax machines can make photocopies, scan documents into a personal computer, or print computer documents. Fax machines designed for home use may also offer telephone and telephone answering machine features.

Some fax machines can be connected to a personal computer, enabling users to send or receive faxes at their computers without printing them first. A personal computer can also be used to send and receive documents if it is equipped with a special electronic circuit board called a fax board.

History. The first primitive fax machine was built in 1842 by Alexander Bain, a Scottish physicist. Many inventors in Europe and the United States worked on facsimile devices in the late 1800's and early 1900's. In the 1930's, news services began using fax machines to transmit photographs. This method of sending pictures was referred to by the trade name Wirephoto or the generic term telephoto. Fax machines became increasingly popular in business in the 1980's after manufacturers developed machines that were smaller, cheaper, and faster.

In the past, fax machines printed onto heat-sensitive paper. The paper tended to curl, fade, and was hard to read and write on. Today, most machines print onto ordinary paper. Modern fax machines can transmit a page in 10 to 30 seconds. Many fax machines can store documents in memory and transmit them to 100 or more destinations at specified times.