Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-09-18
THE MICROPHONF.
A Report of Interesting Experiments in
Lawrence.

+ Lawrence.
By the courtesy of Agent Fallen, OF
the Pacific mills, who is quite an en-
thusiast in scientific matters, we spent
q delightful hour a few days since in ex-
periments with that latest marvel OF
discovery, the microphOne, little in
strument which becomes to the ear
what the microscope is to the eye.
This is discovery of Prof. Hughes, of
Great Britain, who while experiment.
ing with the telephone found a new
element, through which he has sue
ceeded in perfecting an instrument by
which sound is magnitied or increased,
and conveyed by wire in a wonderful
manner. The microDhone of Mr.. Fal-
lon, imported from Eng gland, is a SIM
pie little affair; a thin piece of deal, per
haps five inches by three, insulated by
means or four bits of rubber, one at
each corner, on which it rests, to this is
attached a small ordinary battery; a
small piece of pure carbon is fastened
with bit of wire to the board, and
another piece of carbon, like an inch
and half pipe-stem, is, pivoted near the
centre from little supports, one end
resting upon the piece strapped to the
board; the wires by which the sound is
to be conveyed are attached to either
corner of the board, and connected by
other wires with the carbon vibrator and
the battery; the carbon, highly charged
as it is with mercury, possesses the
power not only of conductivity and Of
reproducing sound, but Of vastly IN
creasing its power, and as the micro
scope reveals to the eye of man the
most insignificant of natures works,
does the microphone disclose to our
hearing otherwise inaudible sound.
Mr.. FallOn has connected with his
microphone some six hundred feet of
wire, and in the room at the other end
an ordinary Bell telephone attachment.
During the experiments which we made
with the assistance of Mr.. RideOut, q
watch was placed on the instrum ent,
and through the nearly one-eighth Of a
mile Of wire came TO the ear not only
the separate ticking, rtsounding like
the heavy beating of q marine or tower
clock, but we could clearly detect the
whirr of the minute wheels, the buzz
and friction of the delicate machinery
of the watch. Then the. watch was re-
moved, and the gentlest sweep of the
down of a feather, brushed as lightly
as possible across the board, reached
the ear magnified to sound like the
coarse grating of a file or the scraping
of a heavy brush. Then a small wire
cage, containing two common house
flies, was placed on the Instrument, and
to the listening ear, 600 feet away, dis
tinctly came the soft and irregular pat
ter of the tiny feet as the flies walked
over the board, and as they flew from
one side of their cage to the other, the
sound as they struck against the tine
Wire was heard with sharp metallic
ring, altogether like that of the hammer
Of boiler-maker, as he .rivets the
bolts in the iron cylinder, We were
somewhat skeptical in relation to this
last experiment, it seemed so much be-
You'd credence, and the wires were de-
tached, the annunciator fastened to the
instrument, with only a few feet Of wire,
and we sat down in front Of the little
wonder, and with our eyes made certain
that there was no possibility Of deceit
as to the source of the marvellous
sounds to which we listened; but there
was no difference, the footballs of the
fly came with no seeming greater dis
tinctness than when transmitted through
600 feet Of wire, and we see no reason
why miles may not be added with the
same result. Conversation in the room
where the instrument was located with
out the intervention of a. mOuth-piece,
as in the tie ephone, was distinctly heard
at the other end of the Wire. t.i I'D.