Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
15
In
September,
1821,
Wheatstone
brought
himself
into
public
notice
by
exhibiting
the
'Enchanted
Lyre,'
or
'Aconcryptophone,'
at
a
music-shop
at
Pall
Mall
and
in
the
Adelaide
Gallery.
It
consisted
of
a
mimic
lyre
hung
from
the
ceiling
by
a
cord,
and
emitting
the
strains
of
several
instruments--the
piano,
harp,
and
dulcimer.
In
reality
it
was
a
mere
sounding
box,
and
the
cord
was
a
steel
rod
that
conveyed
the
vibrations
of
the
music
from
the
several
instruments
which
were
played
out
of
sight
and
ear-shot.
At
this
period
Wheatstone
made
numerous
experiments
on
sound
and
its
transmission.
Some
of
his
results
are
preserved
in
Thomson's
ANNALS
OF
PHILOSOPHY
for
1823.
He
recognised
that
sound
is
propagated
by
waves
or
oscillations
of
the
atmosphere,
as
light
by
undulations
of
the
luminiferous
ether.
Water,
and
solid
bodies,
such
as
glass,
or
metal,
or
sonorous
wood,
convey
the
modulations
with
high
velocity,
and
he
conceived
the
plan
of
transmitting
sound-signals,
music,
or
speech
to
long
distances
by
this
means.
He
estimated
that
sound
would
travel
200
miles
a
second
through
solid
rods,
and
proposed
to
telegraph
from
London
to
Edinburgh
in
this
way.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
