Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1878-04-02
From tue NCV 4 Ork Tribune
The Talking Machine.

While it is not safe to limit the posi-
bilities of science and ingenuity in the
future, We may well doubt whether there
will be more remarkable inventions In the
remainder of this century than the tele-
phone and the phouograph. In the history
Of their invention, the two Instruments
are intimately connected, one having
doubtless suggested the other We shall
not undertake to say which Is the more
wonderful. but Professor Arnold. gives
the preference to the phonograph-the ma
chine which stores away speech and re-
produces it when wanted Perhaps the
next step Of inventive ingenuity will be
to combine the two coutrivances, so that
a message uttered at distance through
telephone will be recorded for use at
leisure, by the photograph, at the recelv-
ING station. This would obvlate some OF
the present Inconvenience IN using the
telephone, and might help to make 1t Of
more general service
The mechanical theory Of the phono-
graph Is so exceedingly simple, that the
wonder Is that it was not invented long
ago The fact that a tin plate vlbrates
10 sound that strikes it, was recognized
many years since as a possible means OF
transcribing sound. Many attempts TO
decipher the record have been made. The
record itself has been obtained, just as II
is in the pbouograph, by means Of steei
point attached to the vibrating membrane
In Mr. Edisons invention, the vibrating
point imprcsses It's record upon a sheet Of
tin foil, which Is wrapped on a grOoved
cylinder The cylinder moves lengthwlsc
Is it turns around, 20 that the record Is a
spiral upon It, ike the thread of a screw.
- tar, there Is nothing surprising The
extraordinary performance is that when
the cylinder is set back at its starting
point and turned again, the elevations
and depressions in the tin-toil move the
vibrating point back and forth, and with
10 the membrane, setting up anew the VI
brations Of the air, and thus reproducing
the sound itself; giving back words,
speech, laughter or music, with startling
6ie'ity
TIL, too soon to say what may be the
uses OF this strange instrument. ASy It's
tone +, metallic and its cnunciatiou holr,c
and obscure but already it is improving
In these particulars, as the causes OF Its
defects are discovered. Methods viii un-
dou1tedly be devised for making It's voice
louder a. weu as more distinct Obvi-
ou>.y this eau be done by any means
which enlarge It's record, the impression
On tn-foil beng now almost microscopic
Perhaps it may be done by means Of
e.ectrotvpcs from the tin-toi. which viii
De increased in a.. their dimensions by
some Of the recent processes Of photo
engraving. Among the results hoped for,
or suggested, is that the actual song OF a
1rima donna may thus be transferred TO
the hand-organs; though whether street
music will be thereby improved, Is a.
east doubtful. \ more useful device. n
j, can be perfected, viii be 70 attach o
machine with abundant power Of sound TO
each lighthouse, so that from the danger
ou, rocks their own name, loudly and con-
tiuuous.y repeated, may warn the APP
proacbu. navigator. For such siren :
song the whole world would bc thankful