The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-14
SMOKE MAKES NOISE
THAT CAN Be HEARD
Inventor of Detectaphone Is
in Birmingham
NOTHING ESCAPES IT
Galliard c. Smith Gives Demonstra-
tion at Metropolitan Hotel of
Wonderfully Sensitive Little
Transmitter and Receiver
Did you ever hear smoke?

Did you ever hear smoke?
Sounds like a joke, doesn't it? Well. IL
is a fact that smoke can be heard, and
it was clearly demonstrated yesterday
afternoon in a room, or rather two
rooms, on the fifth floor of the Metro
politan hotel. OF course, it would be i'm
possible to catch the vibrations made in
the air by the mere passage of smoke
without highly sensitized machine. The
machine used in this case is the detecta-
phone, which was extensively used by
William j. Burns, the worlds greatest
detective, in the Mcnamara cases for
getting "the goods" on the dynamiters.
The deteetaphone is very little larger
than a silver dollar. 1t magniffss sound
through the agency of a large number of
little carbon balls which are placed in
size the receiver and the transmitter
These balls are almost unbelievably small
and 24O to 800 are placed in one small
transmitter.
Galiard c. Smith of New York per-
fected this first aid to detectives, lawyers,
bankers, business men and stenographers
The use of the instrument Is limited only
to the imagination of the user. A busi-
ness man may have a stenographer on tue
fourth floor and be himself on the first
floor and dictate letter to her In an or
binary tone without placing his lips to a
mouthpiece or putting a receiver to his
ear, Or, if visitors are present, it would
be just as easy to whisper the letter. for
the sound is magniied at the other end
of the line.
1t is an actual fact that smoke can be
heard with this marvelously sensitized
instrument. Students of physiology tell
us that there is no sound unless human
ears are within hearing distance. Smoke
would seem to make no sound but place
the transmitter of the detectaphone in
such a position that the smoke will gravi-
tate toward it and the sound is not unlike
that of street car grounding to a sudden
stop.
Mr.. Smith, the inventor of the detecta-
phone, who was here Yesterday in telling
of the principles upon which 1t works.
said: TT makes no difference whether or
not the box is closed up in a drawer or
the man talking is standing beside the
transmitter. The minute talking begins
the little carbon balls are set to vibrating
The vibration of the balls sends a dupli-
cation of the sound along the wire to the
other room, where, with receivers clamped
close to the ear it is all heard
The detectaphone box is an intensely
sensitive transmitter of the same family
as that used every day in ordinary tele-
phones. There is this difference: You do
not have to put your mouth close to
mouthpiece to be heard at distant point
You do not need a mouthpiece. The
whole room is mouthpiece. The sound
waves you produce go on and on until
they penetrate the little box transmitter.
1t is an adoption and an amplifieation
of the telephone principle. The places
for hiding the instrument are practically
numberless. 1t takes up little space and
can be placed under a revolving chair or
In the shades of an incandescent lamp or
chandeliers with equal facility"
Mr.. Smith is working on another inven-
ton which he says will startle the world.
He refused to tell the nature of this in
vention as ne has not yet perfected 1t.
Mr.. Smith will probably be in Birming-
ham until Friday or Saturday. He said
that the residential section of Birming-
ham was one of the most beautiful he
had seen in the south and thinks Bir-
mingham is a great city.