The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

Vol. I. No. 9. THE PHONOSCOPE 11 '(Staphs, pbones anb 'Scopes The Phonetoscope The phonetocope is the latest improvement in the instruments used by physicians and surgeons. Its use enables one to hear the respiratory apparatus, of the organs of digestion, of the ear in health and disease, of muscles, joints, bones, fractures, dislocations, etc., and even the capillary circulation. The slightest vibrations, excluding other slight noises in the room, are heard during examination. It makes it possible for the physician to examine dressed persons with scientific accuracy, offers a certain method of detecting people who feign deafness, and enables the physician to appreciate the normal and pathological sounds emitted by the organs of the body. The phonetoscope is perfected on the principles used in the telephone. A Physician says: "The principles of the telephone are carried out absolutely in the new instrument. We have all known this for years, but none of us ever thought of applying these principles to the purposes for which they were most needed and yet we all realize the old stethescope, which we have been using, was a crude apparatus. The difference between the two instruments is that one is made on the principle of a trumpet and the other on that of the telephone. With the new phonetoscope the beating of the heart can be heard as distinctly as though the ear were placed directly over it. The Toposcope There is now in use in Vienna a toposcope, a machine which exhibits to the eyes of the observer all the fires which break out in a whole city. The apparatus consists of a good telescope, solidly attached to an arrangement of levers, while graduated sections of a circle are vertically and horizontally arranged so that moving the telescope up and down changes the position of the hands attached to the levers in reference to the gratuated scale. Whenever the telescope is focused upon the same object the hands point to the same fig. ures on the vertical and on the horizontal sextant. An index of the whole city having been made, when a blaze starts at night, to direct upon the spot of the toposcope on the respective side, read off the numbers, look up the object, and wire to central fire station is but the work of a few seconds. The local conditions for success are nearly perfect. St. Stephens' tower is over 500 feet high. The city is situated in the broad valley of the Danube; the atmospheric conditions are such that the toposcope works so correctly that the exact house number was often given to the central by the watchman in the tower before an alarm could have been sounded in the nearest box. The Synchronomagraph Postmaster General Gary has received from Lieut. George Squire and Prof. Albert C. Crehore a report of their recent experiments with their synchronomagraph system of rapidly transmitting intelligence by the alternating current upon the lines of the British postal system, for which they recently went to England. They say that W. H. Preece, the engineer-in-chief of the British telegraphs, gave them every facility, placing his assistants, workshops, and other things at their disposal. The apparatus was set up in the general office of London, on August 8 messages were sent over a copper and iron wire from London via Leeds to Glasgow, to Edinburgh, and return via Newcastle, Tyne, and York to London. The dis tance was 834 miles, forty -four of which were underground. It was found that slightly under 4,000 words a minute could be sent and the speed might have been increased. About 650 complete waves of the alternating current were employed, or 1,300 single impulses of current. The present experiments are being conducted with the synchronomagraph transmitter upon the regular Wheatstone receiver in use on the British telegraph service. The Postmaster General replied to their letter, extending his congratulations on the success which attended their experiments and advised them that he would be pleased to hear further regarding them. At the last session of Congress Senator Pettigrew introduced a bill authorizing the Postmaster General to acquire possession of this system of telegraphing, if it should prove a success, and to put up a line between New York and Washington, on which to experiment. The bill appropriates a million dollars for this purpose. The Thermophone The principle of this thermophone is that of the time required for a given amount of heat to penetrate to the centre of a mass of fire clay, graphite or other resistant material. A small cylinder of, say, fire clay has in its centre a little pellet of a specially prepared explosive, which, when heated to a predeterminated temperature, will explode with a characteristic report. If a number of these cylinders are made, all as nearly alike as possible, and exposed to different high temperatures, it is evident that the time which elapsed between the exposure to the heat and the sound of the explosion may be considered as a function of the temperature. Having determined a standard size and uniform material for the thermophones, Professor Wiborgh has computed very complete tables giving the time required for every ten degrees of temperature. With these tables and a stock of thermophones it is only necessary to throw one of the little cylinders into the space of which the temperature is to be measured and note the number of seconds which elapse before the report is heard, when the approximate temperature may be taken at once from the tables. It is found that the time varies somewhat, according to the character of the surroundings, being different, for instance, when the thermophone is exposed to flame, or when placed in contact with molten metal; hence three tables have been computed for use with varying conditions. For flues, heated gases, etc., the best method is to insert an iron tube, closed at the inner end, and, after the tube has attained the temperature of the gases, drop the thermophone in and note the time before explosion. A similar tube may be used for metals of moderate temperatures, while the metals of very high fusing points the thermophone is thrown directy lupon the surface, in each case using the corresponding table. The determination of temperature by this means is not so precise as with the higher grades of pyrometers, but the simplicity of the thermophone and the readiness with which it may be used anywhere should make it a useful auxiliary to more accurate and complicated apparatus. Two new instruments have been invented for the benefit of the people who are either slightly or almost entirely deaf, and which enable them to hear anything which is spoken, even in a large auditorium. One of them is a dainty little affair which may be used in the topmost gallery at the theatre, and every whisper from the stage becomes distinct. It has a handle like an opera-glass, while the receiver is a close imitation to a telephone receiver, but with the addition of the ear tube. There is no cushioning of the sound waves, so that the seasheil effect is avoided, it being constructed of special material, which does not create metallic sounds. The voice comes to the ear in perfect articulation, but intensified tone. This is called an "opera 'phone." For those who are more deaf, a similar benefit may be obtained by the use of an instrument having double the power of the other, and which is built on the plan of a stethoscope. This is in appearance much the same as the instrument used by physicians, but the power is greater, for a person not totally deaf need only sit in a room to hear what is being said about him. The "opera 'phone" will probably benefit the greatest number. One need no longer go to the expense of a high-priced seat at the opera, when with this little 'phone the most delicate notes may be heard in any part, and those who could otherwise go but once may for the same money go a number of times and enjoy hearing all of the artists at the same price asked for a parquet seat. A novel instrument, called "the projective microscope," was shown in the -ampin theatre of the Baltimore Medical College recently. It is the invention of Dr. Charles Potter, professor of pathology at the college, who has been working at it since 1879. By the use of the instrument a greatly magnified representation of the object employed is cast upon a screen. The invention is expected to be of special value in teaching, as it will enable a large number of persons to obtain a view of the object magnified. A strong electric light is used to cast the reflection upon the screen. A fire broke out in the building of the Young Men's Christian Association, in Church Street, Newark, N. J., last month. A performance was in progress in Association Hall, on the top floor of the building. A panic was caused by the flames, and several persons were severely hurt in trying to escape. The hall had been eDgaged for an exhibition of the vitascope, and about thirty persons were present, most of them women and children One of the celluloid films in the vitascope machine burst, and the pieces fell into the lamp flame. Immediately theie was an explosion and flames broke out. The interior of the hall was trimmed with light fabric and shrubbery, and in. two minutes these were enveloped in Jflames. The apparatus in which the fire was stationed directly at the entrance to the hall and the intense heat cut off the exit. The hall rapidly filled with smoke, and became a veritable death trap, and had it not heeu for the presense of mind and courage of Alexander Gulick, the janitor, an appalling catastrophe would probably have occurred. Mr. Gulick was downstairs in the gymnasium when the fire started. He realized the danger to the people in the hall above. He opened two doors leading from the gymnasium hall by a back stairway to the Association Hall platform. He rushed up and called the women to follow him. He was just in time for the women and children were nearly frantic, and were breaking open windows and trying to jump to the ground, thirty feet below. Mr. Gulick rushed through the smoke and flames and pointed out to the panicstricken crowd the way to safety. By this stairway the entire audience passed through the gymnasium to the front of the building. The managers of the show lost their vitascope, a quantity of films and other properties, valued at $3,000. The association building included parlors, meeting rooms, library, gymnasium, bowling alleys and Association Hall. The entire building, except the directors rooms and front parlors, was flooded with water. The loss on the building is estimated at $5,000, nearly covered by insurance.