New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-14
A NOVELTY IN BALLOONING.
CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS IN ACOUSTICS.

VARIETY OF SOUNDS.

different attitudes than anything else Some
thing new in the line Of research. however, was
recently undertaken in England The Rev. j.
NJ. Bacon. who is a member Of the Royal AS
Economical Society, and an enthusiastic anna
teur scientist. was the originator OF the scheme.
but he enjoyed the cooper alton OF number or
well-known professional Investigators like Lords
Kelvin and Rayleigh. Professor Schuster. and
the astronomers Maunder. Higgins and Ball.
Mr.. Bacon was one of the men. by the way. who
went out to India 1T the time Of the last solar
eclipse. and took cinematograph along. III
order to be able afterward to give popular
exhibition Of that event.
The principal object which he had in view at
the time of his balloon ascension in England last
month was to find out how far sound is affected
by altitude and tho presence Of cloudbank
The start was made from Newbury, with a gas
bag having a capacity of 10000 cubic feet and
capable of taking up three men, lot of photo
graphic and meteorological apparatus was
carried because if one of the chief plans OF the
day was not fully executed it was deemed ex-
pedient to turn the ascension to account in
other ways Two men accompanied Mr.. Bacon
in tho car One. DR.. Lachan. is Cambridge
mathematician. and the other was Mr. Eyre,
from whose grounds the balloon rose. The
aeronauts took notebooks and certain nstru-
ments for recording sound
Down on the surface Of the earth were huge
speaking trunpets. steam whistles. sirens. q
brass band. a squad Of rifemen. and the en-
ployes of a house that manufactures guncot-
ton. At intervals Of half minute after the
balloon started some kind OF a sound pro-
duced. The human voice was tried first and
then the whistles and sirens screamed. the band
played. the rifles discharged. and finally
three or four cartridges Of guncotton vert
touched off One Of the big bells Of NewburI
Church sounded. and arrangements vert
made for the firing )f some big cannon at Ports
mouth. thirty miles away.
As yet it is not known what success attended
the enterprise but Mr.. Bacon has in view
series Of these ascents. and will doubtless "a
guided more or less in the future by the MIS-
takes and failures of his first ascent Still. thu
correspondent Of one Of the London newspapers
remarked at the time that only Fellow Of the
Royal Society could accurately describe the ex-
pcrments. and should say without any wis'
to be impolitc to science) that only another Feis
low Of that famous body could understand
them" Here. however. is the programme which
Mr.. Bacon had laid out after consultation Win
a number Of eminent physicists:
Numerous comparisons to be made betweei
sounds heard ID down wind, CD across wind
To test many forms Of speaking trumpetS
| transmitters and receivers.
To discriminate between the audibility o.
! band Instruments. tested singly and in concert.
! To make investigations (variOus) OF echoes,
acoustic clouds" and the decay of sound On
diycrgins from axis along which generated
| To measure velocity OF sound between earth
and upper strata and vice versa.
! TO experiment on pitch and audiDhty or I'M
strumcnts taken alOft.
To decide the maximum range down wind Cd
OF human voice: CO Of powerful sound instru-
nrnts
To note rise and fall Of sound of church bell.
as heard remote from local Influences {. g..
whether merely fitful. rhythmic. or otherwise.
To look for conspicuous stars before sundowr,
noting their altitude and angular distance frorh
gun
To look for alleged markings on the surface
Of Venus.
TO note any darkening 81 the sky in ascend
ing.
In regard To refractiOn. to take snapshots or
the sun disappearing below sea horizon at
known times and attitudes with simultaneous
temperature measurements.
To observe and photograph tie spectrum be-
low and alofl determining the proportion Of tell
iuric lines. etc.
To inNestigaic by photography the relative
actual qualities Of the atmosphere at different
elevations.
t. measure atmospheric electricity by Kel-
yin elcctrometcr.
10 experiment with Athens dust counter.
Under direction II Professor Ramsay 10 en-
tran air at high elevation 10 be examined by
him
To record the lag Of ancrod barOmeters dur
ing descent.
T. attempt to photograph the solar corona
frur. high attitudes.
70 make certain meteorological ODSerNatonS
If,lD