The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-05-03
M4RTELLOUs MECHANTSM
THE SPEAKING PHoNoGRAPH AND THE
TELEPHONE.

THE SPEAKING PHoNoGRAPH AND THE
TELEPHONE.
With the invention of the telephone
scientific research became directed into
new and hitherto untrodden field. The
astonishing results of experiment and dis
coveries liz the transmission of articnlate
sounds stimulated further investigation,
and Edison, whose name will ever be lIukeo
with the telephone, has succeeded in per-
fecting another invention, which Is I'M
doubtedly one of the most marvellous of
this astonishing age. To day its wonder
full capabilities are known only to the few,
but in the near future the speaking phOno-
graph will be as familiar TO the millions
as the steam engine, the printing press and
electric telegraph, and, it is hardly saying
too much to add, equally indispensable.
When number, of prominent gentlemen
assembled by invitation in the private I
office of Mr.. Henry Bently, at Third and
Chestnut streets, a few days ago, and were
shown the Edison Speaking Phonograph |
which, by the way, seems to be rather
Pathological title for the inventIon--they
found a piece of mechanism free from any
thing like complicated machinery. 1t may
be briefly described as an iron wheel about
six inches in diameter and an inch and
half face The axle of this wheel is an
endless screw, with handle on one end,
and as the handle is turned the wheel
moves from right to left and rice U6rSd
while revolving distance of three inches.
Placed against the face of the wheel,
which is covered with tinifoil, is something
like the mouth of a speaking tube, and on
The side next to the wheel is a point rest
ing from this tube on tue tin-foil- That
was all. No wines, no electricity, no intrI
cate machinery. Everything piaIn ana
! simple. When the invited guests had as
| sembed, Mr.. Bently, Mr.. Adams, and
! other gentlemen spoke in. or rather against
| this mouth piece or tube, turning the wheel
meanwhile. Such classical selections as
| Jack and Jilr' and MARY had a little
| lamb were the favorite pieces, and these
| were uttered with fautless pronunciation
/ while the wheel was being turned. Then
the wheel was placed where it started, but,
| instead of the voice of a speaker, a conical
| speaker, something like speaking trumpet,
was placed at the spot at which the sounds
| had been uttered. The wheel was then
turned and every sound, every syllable,
! every word, clear and distinct was emitted
| Just as it had been spoken moment before.
| The lightest emphasis, the peculiar infiec-
| tions of the speakers voice, every pause
| was as faithfully reproduced as it could
! have been by the original speakers them
selves. Laughter and whistliug and sing
ing and signing and groaus-in fact, every
| utterance of which the human voice Is
t I
wheel and emptied when it turned.
The gentleman in charge of the expert
! ments explained that it was ''simply the
| vibrations of the voice acting on disk
| which communicated the impressions to
the tin foil and thus they were recorded"
Just so but none the less marvellous were
the results in spite of that ''simpe eX-
{ plauatiun.'' And now, as ii is proved that
the words thus spoken to the machine can
be reproduced in a hundred years if ne
| ceSsary. and any number of times required,
and 10y s.ereotypeG impressions of the tin
| foil in an unlimited number OF places, il is
! worth while to consider for moment the
capabilities and possibilities of This wond
| rous invention. If l. bad been in existence
few hundred years ago. what delights it
aigtit t,ave conferred upon humanity For
instance, Washington reply concerning
that little ha.chet business might have
been recorded and uttered once day in
every school house Cor uie benefit of Ameri-
cah youth; Robert Emmett's famous
speech might have been recited by himself
in Independence Hall last Monday night
Websters reply to Hayne might have been
given in every household la tie land but
other examples will readily suggest them
selves. To-day, if in universal use, ia
what services might it not be applied?
Que, for instance, could be kept in every
: hospital and every police office, and where
Z
! could be recorded, and repr, duced in cout
years after; or departing millionaire
| could yell out the terms of his will to the
faithful .phouograph, and when irreverent
3 relatives sought to diSrute on the ground
of insanity th' mp asis in that farewell
testament thus recorded would GO far tC
prove the condition of The testator's mind
The uses to which it could be applied are
: iunumerabe, but a contemplation of it.
q general adoption causeS some painful
: thoughts. The mothev-in-law, before
departing foi home, might talk into the
machine for week. and doses of her lee
,s lure could be ground out for years after
Or. suppose an insurance company were t.
% purchase a Thousand or so, and store then
g up with facts and figures regarding an
nUities aud risks aud policies aud premi
ums, and surreptitiously introduce then
into houses under the guise of music
n boxes. Then, when the innocent victim
: wanted the Sweet bye aud bye'' he woulC
"a be regaled by a table of dry statistics, arc
: an Injunction that, as life is uncertain h,
should insure in the Blow up Mutual. =
Then, again, Private Dalzell and George
Francis Train and Susan b Anthony-bu
!, the thought is too dreadful. MIR. Bentll
also entertained his guests with
J THE TELEPHONE.
7? George NJ. Shaw has contributed to tn,
r March number of the Popular .Scienc
4 H0HUt6y q very lnlereStlN paper descrlp
s. tive of the telephone and how it works.. :
IS He says the longest distance at which con
= versation has been carried ON by means o
n the telephone so far is about $50 miles =
as With a submarine cable, conversation ha
L been carried on between England an,
of France across the English Channel. Con
le versation has also been held through Tia
- bodies OF sixteen persons standing hand il
hand. The editor of the Popular lScienc
Monthly, in discoursing ON the teaching
. of the telephone, says it has always bee
: regarded as one of the mysterious miracle
- of vital structure how the little membran
et ous drum of the human ear can take up S
ct perfectly this rapid stream OF intricate me
z, tions in the air, which are all so exactly re
e produced by tie layer of adjacent part tce
he striking upon the membrane, that thous
oi ands of tympanums will all be affected pre-
~ cisely alike, while the nerves transmit tn