Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-03-21
LATEST SPEAKING MACHINE.
New Form of Photograph, Simpler
and More Accurate Than the Old.

New Form of Photograph, Simpler
and More Accurate Than the Old.
new form or phonOgraph that diff
fers radically from the Edison type has
been invented by Professor Paulsen Of
Copenhagen. He calls it the telegra-
phone, and those who have inVestigat-
ed the invention say it is much sim
pier. more sensitive and reprOduces
with far greater accuracy the sounds
| read than does any other machine.
A steel piano wire a meter or so long
| is tightly stretched between two
bridges. The, wire is about 3 MILL
| meter diameter. A tiny electro magnet
| has a core of a single piece Of soft
| iron wire about millimeters long and
| rs millimeter diameter. The termi-
J nails Of this electro magnet are con
nected through battery with micro
| phonetic form employed in a tele
| phone transmitter will do. Now, as
| one speaks or sings into the transmit
| ter the electro magnet is passed over
| the wire. AS 1t moves along, its mag
netiZation varying with the vibrations
| of the voice, it induces at every point
| along the wire permanent magnetism
| corresponding TO the magnetic condi-
| ton Of the electro magnet the instant
it passed. This gives, as it were, a
perfect photograph of the sound vibra-
| tions impressed upon the wire in terms
of magnetic light and shade. The
transmitter Is low replaced by re
ceiving telephone, and as one listens
| ~, t.,
at the same rate, its journey over the
wire. The telephone will then repeat
| with great clearnesS and absolute accu~
racy the original sounds.
| According to the Chicago Tribune,
this magnetic impression in the steel
wire is permanent and does not wear
out by use any more than n PHOTOGRAPH
ic negative wears out by printing from
it. Bat, like the film on negative, the
impression may easily be removed and
the wire used again. All that is neces-
sary is to connect tie electro magnet
with current slightly exceeding the
maximum current that passed while
recording ard flowing in the opposite
I direction. With this constant current
flowing tie electro magnet is moved
over the wire, and ali traces of the pre-
viouS impression are removed.
A record Of any length may be made
by any simple device for lengthening
the wire. For instance, the wire may
be wound in Il spiral upon a cylinder.
The inventor has even found that thin,
narrow steel foil works admirably and
that this may be wound upon any sim
pie bobbin-one layer over the other
and that the impressions will remain
good for long period. They VIII,
however, finally transfer ard become
blurred as two freshly printed pages
brought together will do. This, hOwev-
er, may be avoided in both cases by in
terposing between the layer thin paper
or cloth.
The wonderful simplicity of this lit
tie instrument, together with the ingen-
ious application of a well known fact
suggests interesting possibilities. Much
Of interest lies in the world just be-
yond the limit of our senses. Celestial
photography has revealed worlds be
yond the appreciation of the eye, even
though the eye be aided with the most
powerful instrument. Perhaps mag
netic photographs Of sounds can be en-
larged anG aualyZcd too.