Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-10-05

becomes to the ear what the ml-
croscope is to the eye. This is a
discovery of Professor Hughes, of
Great Britain, who, while expert
menting with the telephone, found
a new element, through which he
has succeeded in perfecting an in
strnment by which sound Is mag.
nified or increased and conveyed
by O wire, in q wonderful manner.
The microphone of Mr.. Fallop, i'm
ported from England, is simple
little affair; thin piece of deal,
perhaps five inches by three, insu-
lated by means of four oits
of rubber, one at each cor
ner, on which it rests; 10
this is attached small, ordinary
battery; smai piece of~pHRe car
bon is fastened with a bit of wire
to the board, and another piece OF
carbon like an inch and hall
pipestem is pivoted near the CEN
ter, from little supports, one end
resting upon the piece strapped to
the board; the wires by which the
sound is to be conveyed are at
tached to each corner of the board,
and connected by other wires with
the carbon vibrator and the bat
terry; the carbon, highly charged as
it is with mercury, possesses the
power not only of u conductivity,
and of reproducing sound, but of
vastly increasing its power. AS
the microscope reveals to the eye of
-, -, tba ,,,oot inaiUpi foopt of pa-
ture's works, SO does the micro
phone disclose to our hearing even
inaudible sound. b.
Mr.. Fallon has connected with his
microphone some six hundred feet
of wire, and in the room at the
other end an ordinary Bell tele-
phone attachment. During the ex-
peri riments which we made with the
assistance of Mr.. Rideout. watch
was placed upon the instrument,
and through the nearly oue-eighth
of a mile of wire came to the ear, not
only the separate ticking, resound-
ing like the heavy beating of a
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 he board,
reached the ear magnitied to sound
like the cnarse grating of fie or
the scraping of a heavy brush.
| Then u small wire cage, containing
two common house fl es, was
placed ON the instrument, and to
the listening ear, six hundred feet
away. distinctly came the soft and
irregular patter Of the tiny feet as
the flies walked over the board;
and as they flew from one side of
their cage 10 the other, the
sound as they struck against
The fine wire was heard with
y sharp metallic ring, altogether
like that oil the hammer Of Il boiler
| welder as he rivets the bolts in the
iron cylinder. We We're somew what
skeptlcal in relation to this last ex-
pertinent, it seemed so much b.
| yond or, deuce, and the wires were
detached, the annunciator fastened
| to the instrument with only 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 MS to
| the source of the marvellous sounds
to which we Iislened; but there
was no difference, the ioolfslls of
! the fly came with no SEEM
ing greater distiDctness than
when transmitted through six
hundred 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 mouthpeee,
as in the telephone, was distinctly
heard at the other end of the wire.
This is the instrument which, in
Halifax, England, was attached to
the pulpit of chapel, the connect
ing wires being carried to a house
the distance of q mile, every word
Of the sermon being transmitted
with distinctness, and even en-
abliDg the listener at the close
to hear the janitor as he
walked up the aisle, closed the
Bible, and returning closed and
locked the door. AS to the uses to
which it may be put, there isscarce-
ly any limit to the imagination
already in surgery it has been prac
tically applied, as detector of bull
let's and other foreign bodies, and il
is thought likely to prove invalua,
BILE in a diagnosis of lung, heart and
other diseases. Our brief examin