The San Francisco call., 1897-12-22

matograph completes the Illusion, re-
stores the movement, the action lhe
animated life.
Such a spectacle, wonderful as it may
be, comes short, however, of the re-
atty. for photography at its best 91lly
puts IN play mute actors. The reproq4 epD4 uof of
ton is but q pantomime-but q part OF
the daily, natural human life. 1t is an
opera without the music, says Science
In it. while most frequently the, ear IS
the sense which should hold the first
place. In natural life the two have equal
place. In reproduction the events of the
past have been considered dead as far
as the hearing was concerned.
To bridge the gap and make the pic
ing was long the question. The prob
lem was, however, solved by the genius
OF Edison and Charles Cros. Through
the medium of the monograph we are
enabled to place side by side with pho
tograph a phonogramme, thus preserv-
ing the voice as well as the view Of per-
enliven them. How this may be will be
understood from the accompanying
figures.
IS easy to understand. When it is de-
sired to fix and preserve the speaking
features of scene, the sound is allowed
at the other end thin diaphragm,
which by means of a very light stylus
wax. On this cylinder. rotating and at
the same time having a side movement,
the stylus cuts a spiral line whose depth,
vibrations, varies at every instant.
This is true writing-the writing of the
natural word, not the characters which
nize the signs by which the fundamental
qualities of sound are there indicated
height, intensity and 'timbre."
The height or the number of vibra-
tions made in a unit of time in the air
is on the wax in direct proportion to the
number of periods turned off in a given
{va ton T1ar,
length of the period. The intensity is
indicated by the variation in the depth
of the imprint, and these variations are
in close correspondence with the eX-
terror sinuositieS of the line, as may be
seen in reproductions of the tracings of
the several sounds given in plate L The
musical timbre, that quality of sound by
which we are enabled, through the ear,
to distinguish from each other several
instruments playing the same air or
single or even the same note. A glance
at the figures on plate L will convey as
much to the mind as long and minute
explanations. The timbre is the form of
the period (see tracings 2 and 8, plate y.
The periods Up. P) have the same
length in each case, because both sounds
but how different is the interior design
of each complete wave, which results
from the number, the intensity and the
relative lengths of the partial waves
which enter into the composition of the
complete wave or period. We have here
two distinct timbres. Neither the eye
nor the ear can De deceived. mus II
may be seen that the three fundamental
qualities of the sound can be read ac-
curately from the tracing. The height,
intensity and timbre correspond ex-
actly to the length, depth and form of
the period. Contrasted with q musical
sound a noise is shown irregular and
variable in all it's parts.
Photographic photography may play an
important part in the study of language.
In the near future they will put in
grammars and language books the let
ters a, e. o, etc, side by side with their
corresponding photographic periods just
as they write the name on the photo
graph or picture of a person or object.