The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-27
SCIENTIFIC MUSIC.
Electric Are Lights Made 20 Play
Tunes.

Tunes.
From the Chicago Record Herald
Some time ago, while Experimenting
with the electric arc. W. Duddell, an
English physicist, made the remarkable
discovery that it could be made TO play
tunes He found that the slightest alter
ation-even so little as one-ten-thou-
sandth part-in the current passing
through the arc caused a variation In the
hot vapor column surrounding the ends
of the carbons, which produced audible
sounds. And he further found that BY the
use of a device called a shunt circuit he
could control the variation so perfectly
as to obtain a musical scale. He then con-
structed an arc with solid ca:bons-the
cored carbon has no music in its soul
and by the use Of a shunt circuit contain
Ing capacity and self-induotion and an in
genous keyboard be obtained an instru-
ment upon which tunes could be played.
The shunt circuit was placed directly
across the terminals Of the arc. Mr.. Dud-
dell had no idea at this time that he
could play his new instrument from dis
lance.
In connection with lecture on the cleo
trio arc before the London Institution Of
Electrical Engineers he exhibited his
musical arc" and played several pieces
upon 1t for the audience. Up to this point
the discovery was more curious than
practical-simply a novel property Of the
electric arc suitable for demonstration in
the lecture-room.
But some new facts have just come to
lght-in a most curious way, too--says
the New York Times, which seem to
promise a considerably wider field for the
new musical instrument, and which MAY
eventually give Il important practical APP
plcations. 1t has now transpired that IN
two different laboratories about fifth
OF a mile away from the lecture-room-
one that Of Sir w. Dew. Abney. and the
other Sir Norman Lockyer' s-ares which
were being used for experimental work
behaved In most unaccountable manner,
and were described as playing tunes or
singing during the time when Mr. Duddell
was giving his lecture At first no enc
could suggest any satisfactory cxpiana-
ton Of their curious behavior
But upon the publication OF Mr.. Dud-
delrs lecture II was Immediately sus-
pected that he had inadvertently played
upon these two other arcs. as well as
upon that In the central technical coll
lege. and further experiments have verl-
fed this conclusion. All three arcs vera
found 20 be supplied with current from
the street mains. and II was clear that
this main current had been varied in
such O way by Mr.. Duddells keyboard
as to reproduce I'm the two other labora-
tories the tunes which he supposed he
was playing only TO his audience in the
lecture-room. This obviously meant that
by playing on one properly arranged key
board tunes could be reproduced In q
number OF different arcs and at a dis
lance from the musician.
II such remarkable results were OBJ
tained purely by accident. and hence
without any special arrangement, It
seems very probable that further expert
mental work along these lines will dis
close a hitherto unexpected possibility
IN the use OF the arc light for public en-
tertainment 40 we'll as Illumination.
The possible applications OF such a mu-
sical instrument are obviously very nu-