New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-11-14
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.ermine the distances at which the shock waves
resulting from the discharge of various explosives
could be heard. A brief investigation of the
factors influencing the transfer Of energy from a
mining tool to the clay and coal were also made in
order that recommendations could be made as to
the type of mining machine which could be used
TO accomplish the most work with the least noise.
In this connection it was found that sounds
were transmitted only about half as far in clay
as in shale strata and about one-quarter as far in
clay as in coal. To give some idea of the sensi-
tiveness of the instrument it may be said that
pounding with n pick on the bituminous coal can
be detected for "A distance of 900 feet. and the
direction determined, and that pounding with Il
sledge can be heard as far as ! ;150 feet. These
measurements were made in the Pittsburgh coal
seam in the vicinity of Pittsburgh, where the coal
is somewhat harder than in most other bitumlnous
coal beds. The explosion of IA one-ounce charge
of dynamite was detected n distance of over 1000
feet through the shale strata.
Sound Tells the Implement.
one interesting feature of the instrument is
that the sound transmitted to the ear is charac.
teristic of the implement producing the sound. To
Illustrate: Twelve mining and carpentering
operations were carried out on the coal rib. An
engineer of the bureau of mines who had never
used the g%eophone and who did not know what
tools were to be operated was able to recognize
and name nine of the implements at a distance of
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other three sounds were accurately described, but
the tools were not Identified.
Now that the war Is over, the bureau has turned
10 the development of the instruments for peace-
time uses. For one thing, il is believed that they
will he of great value to mine-rescue crews who
may be entering mines for exploration and TO
locate miners who may have been entombed after
n disaster. The tests so far made in the vicinity
of Pittsburgh show that a man pounding on the
coal rib with a pick. piece Of timber or sledge can
be detected and located from a point 600 to loo
feet distant. This distance depends greatly on the
character Of coal upon which the man is pounding,
and Intervening rooms and entries seem to have
surprisingly little effect upon the distance or the
determination Of direction.
Pounding with a sledge can be heard from 200
TO 800 feet through the mine cover, depending
upon the quietness of the day outside, since any
wind greatly i~nterferes with the successful opera
tion Of the Instruments. II will at once be seen
that when mines are not too deep they can be
explored from the surface and il will thus be
possible to find and locate a miner who is pound
ing. At the experimental mine in Bruceton, Pa
n man has frequently been located through 14O
feet of cover within 80 feet of the exact point
where he was pounding.
A study is also being made of the distances that
on rails and pipes can be heard. Since
rails are generally buried in the earth or dust in
the entries of a mine, and since this dust dampens
the transmission of the sound, the sounds are not
very well. The same is true of pipe
lines. However, If the pipe lines are not buried.
but are laid on blocks and ties, the pounding can
be heard great distances. So far no lines have
been found long enough to show the limit of the
g~eophone. Ii is known. however. that the naked
ear can get sounds farther than 1000 feet.
Used to Guide Tunnel Work.
In metal mines expensive surveys have some
times TO be made in order that the approaching
tunnel headings may be brought together ac-
Since direction can be determined so
with the geophones, II is thought that they
can be used to guide such work. 1t would only
be necessary to go into each heading and locate
the direction from which pounding In the other
heading was coming.
Observations made in a metal mine recently
showed that direction can be determined much
more easily in rock than in coal. This is prob
,bly due to the fact that there is some reverbera-
ion to the sound from a hammer blow on coal,
while on stone the sound is clean cut. II so hap
,ened that in this mine a raise was being driven
ID. about six or eight feet distant from a shaft.
Observations were made in the drift Of the sound