Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-17
A RIVAL OF THE TELEPHONE.
Remarkable Discovery Made by Profess
sor Bell and His Cousin.

Bell and His Cousin.
Professor Alexander Graham Bell and
his cousin, DIR. Chichester Bell, have re
Gently made a very remarkable discovery.
which they think is quite as important as
the transmission of the tones of the human
voice through the telephone. They have
discovered that a falling jet of water or
flame of gas burning in a room reproduces
every word spoken and every sound ut
tered within & given distance. When two
people join in conversation in a room in
the evening the gas which burns above
their heads repeats every word they say,
and sounds uttered in the vicinity of flow
ing water produces vibrations.
To reporter of a local paper Professor
Bell showed glass disk, upon which ap-
peared spiral streak composed OF tiny
little shade lines, placed together or far
ther apart to make up the variation OF in
tensity. The surface was one of depres
sion and elevation. This. Professor Bell
said, represented sound waves. When the
plate was revolved upon pivot and the
depresSiOns and elevations conveyed to the
ear by a mirophOne, there was a repetition
OF the conversation then recorded as dis
tinCt as when it was delivered The undu-
late surface representing sound waves was
produced by photography. Professor Bell
says THAT if any one will go TO water
pipe and turn on the faucet SO that the
water will fall in stream to the ground,
that water can be made to report the con
versation taking place in its presence and
a stream register every sound within hear
ing of it.
The great object of the inventors was to
record by photography or otherwise the
vibrations in the jet Of water which cor
respond to sound waves; the result Of
words spoken in the vicinity; TO keep the
voice on record, bottled up, as it were, for
any length Of time, and then, when called
upon, To let the record speak. This, Mr.
Bell says, has been accomplished The
water, or liquid q whatever kind it may
be, is colOred with bichromate of potash
If it were perfectly clear it would not an
swer, because the light used in photo
graphing would pass through without re
sistance and no recoPl would be made on
the tablet. The water is colored for pho
tographing, and the jet is made TO fall
Obliquely on a glass plate. The water
spreads itself on the glass plate and runs
off. 1t is the water so spread out that is to
be photographed as it passes. Words
spoken cause the jet of water TO vibrate,
the vibrations in the jet cause correspond
ing vibrations in the film of water as it
breaks and spreads on the glass plate and
runs off. A ray OF light is passed through
that film and through the glass plate 10 a
sensitive tablet behind. The sensitive
tablet receives the impression of every
vibration while the speaking continues,
the jet keeps running, the film keeps pass
ing over the plate the recording tablet
keeps moving. and the light passing
through the film to the tablet makes "A
record of the speech far more accurate
than any verbatim report. These scen-
lists do not consider their invention per
feet, but they are at work improving it
Cor. New York Graphic