The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1896-04-03
HOW THE EoPHoNE WORKS.
A PERFECT INSTRUMENT WHICH WILL
ENABLE A VESSEL To NAVIGATE
SAFELY IN 4 FOG.

Possibly there Is no greater terfO
among the many met with at sea thai
4 f1g. says the New York Herald. Tn
hclplcssncss Of the harb0r bnats an
the clamor Of the bells and whistle
during a heavy fog in New York haF
hOr gives one some idea ~ this night
mare OF the ocean: but when a H.,
closes down on a vessel at sea the mos
reckless captain proceeds eau .iOusl!
and a~nxiOu,ly.
The probability Of llisiOns ant
wrecks due to fogs has been accepted
a. a sort OF unavoidable evil, which
must become greater as the number
and speed Of vessels increase. But
the inventive genlus OF man could not
let such a~cOnditiOn Of affairs continue
without attempting t0dOaway witliit
and there hes been perfected lately Il
simple instrument. called the cupllOne,
by which the direction from which Il
sound proceeds a be determined
with absolute accuracy in a fog or
darkness.
The simplest description Of the in
strumcnt is that it consists Of two
bell-mOuth sound receivers. separated
by a central diaphram. The sound
receivers are connected to The ears.
and. when pointed directly at Il source
Of sound. the nUise is the same in each
ear. When turned away the sound is
heard in only one ear.
On shipboard the sound-catcling
and dividing part Of the instrument
extends above the top of the chlrt-
house. The tubes are brought within
the chart-hOuse, and the instrument
may be turned from below to point In
any desired direction. The cophOne
has now been perfected, there being
many points for which numerous ex-
pcrimcnts, lasting over several years.
have been required. in order to de-
termine the best form, especially with
the sounding tubes and ear pieces.
Various retincmcnts. such as micro
phones and devices adding to the com
plication, but not improving the use,
have been eliminated.
To illustrate the character OF the
which have been made with the
cOphone. was placed on the light
house tender Lilac, and in a dense fog
a whistling buoy was picked up at a
distance Of a mile and its direction
indicated correctly, although every
effort was made to confuse the Obsery-
CT BY change Of course. Ordinarily
there Is great difficulty in picking up
a whistling buoy in IA fog.
A vessel running close tn land would
get eophOne in a striking way, was
made by blindfUlding the observer and
chasing another vessel by sounds Of
its whistle. the vessel pursued dou-
bling and twisting in every possible
way. No difficulty whatever was found
in following the vessel under such cir
cumstances. Spar buOys can be picked
up from the echo Of the boats wills
tie.
a vessel running close to land would
get the echo from her own whistle in
case there were hills or tall houses.
On dark nights the ripple Of oars or
the slight noise Of a tOrpedo-boat
would be accurately by the eophone.
is probably one Of the greatest inven-
tiOns Of the day, as it is destined to
become rs much a part OF a ships
equipment as the compass. The larger
vessels will have two, and just as now
there are distinctive lights on shore
there will be distinctive whistles, so
that in q fog not only can vessels avoid
danger, but they can determine their
dHi E' SiltIt Ihtb MAJ DbiS.
Ferry-boats will he enabled to go
straight across to their slips at either
end. The echo from an iceberg is
plainly apparent.
The cOphonc is the invention OF
Mr.. Frank de la Tore, IA scientist, Of
Baltimore. lie has spent a number
OF years in pcrfccting it and has been
aided in the development by the adj
vice and criticisms OF some Of the
greatest physicists Of Europe. The
cophone eau be placed upon any vessel
without alteration in the arrange
ment Of the ordinary chart-housc, it
is not expensive: it adds practically
nothing to the weight and it cannot
get out Of order, and as its efficiency
has been demonstrated by actual
trials it is sure to be universally |
adopted for use on board ship and at