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210
The Fairy-Land of Science
·
Arabella B. Buckley
128
Let
us
examine
this
with
two
tuning-forks.
I
strike
one,
and
it
sounds
D,
the
third
space
in
the
treble;
I
strike
the
other,
and
it
sounds
G,
the
first
leger
line,
five
notes
above
the
C.
I
have
drawn
on
this
diagram
(Fig.
35),
an
imaginary
picture
of
these
two
sets
of
waves.
You
see
that
the
G
fork
makes
three
waves,
while
the
C
fork
makes
only
two.
Why
is
this?
Because
the
prong
of
the
G
fork
moves
three
times
backwards
and
forwards
while
the
prong
of
the
C
fork
only
moves
twice;
therefore
the
G
fork
does
not
crowd
so
many
atoms
together
before
it
draws
back,
and
the
waves
are
shorter.
These
two
notes,
C
and
G,
are
a
fifth
of
an
octave
apart;
if
we
had
two
forks,
of
which
one
went
twice
as
fast
as
the
other,
making
four
waves
while
the
other
made
two,
then
that
note
would
be
an
octave
higher.
So
we
see
that
all
the
sounds
we
hear,
-
the
warning
noises
which
keep
us
from
harm,
the
beautiful
musical
notes
with
all
the
tunes
and
harmonies
that
delight
us,
even
the
power
of
hearing
the
voices
of
those
we
love,
and
learning
from
one
another
that
which
each
can
tell,
-
all
these
depend
upon
the
invisible
waves
of
air,
even
as
the
pleasures
of
light
depend
on
the
waves
of
ether.
It
is
by
these
sound-waves
that
nature
speaks
to
us,
and
in
all
her
movements
there
is
a
reason
why
her
boice
is
sharp
or
tender,
loud
or
gentle,
awful
or
loving.
Take
for
instance
the
brook
we
spoke
of
at
the
beginning
of
the
lecture.
Why
does
it
sing
so
sweetly,
while
the
wide
deep
river
makes
no
noise?
Because
the
little
brook
eddies
and
purls
round
the
stones,
hitting
them
as
it
passes;
sometimes
the
water
falls
down
a
large
stone,
and
strikes
against
the
water
below;
or
sometimes
it
grates
the
little
pebbles
together
as
they
lie
in
its
bed.
Each
of
these
blows
makes
a
small
globe
of
sound-waves,
which
spread
and
spread
till
they
fall
on
your
ear,
and
because
they
fall
quickly
and
regularly,
they
make
a
low,
musical
note.
We
might
almost
fancy
that
the
brook
wished
to
show
how
joyfully
it
flows
along,
recalling
Shelley's
beautiful
lines:-
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