Abstract
I HAVE been much interested in the communication by Dr. Röntgen on a telephonic alarum. During the past six or seven weeks, in investigating the phenomena of the telephone, chiefly as to the suggestions they offer regarding the mechanism of nervous transmission, I have frequently shown to friends the striking experiment described by Dr. Röntgen, and, amongst others, to Sir William Thomson. It has succeeded with Ut2, Ut3, and with numerous forks up to Ut5, but, as stated by Dr. Röntgen, the best result was obtained with Ut4. With those below this pitch the tone was feeble, whilst with those above it it was transient, in consequence of the difficulty of keeping the small fork going. With Ut2, worked continuously by an electro-magnet, another fork of the same pitch sounded loudly and steadily. I have also been engaged in some endeavours to record on a moving surface the vibrations of the plate. These have been so successful as to show that it is only a question of delicate adjustment. In endeavouring to utilise one telephone by making several friends listen at once, I have found that by fixing the metal disc to a thin membrane over a small cavity filled with air, like a Koenig's capsule, and having a number of flexible leaden tubes connected with it, an ear placed at the end of each tube will hear distinctly.
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MCKENDRICK, J. The Telephone. Nature 17, 181 (1878). https://doi.org/10.1038/017181a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/017181a0
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