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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the funnel. The vibrations are transmitted by the liquid to the 

 tray below, which is thrown into tremors, and a swelling musical sound 

 is the result. 



Vibrations conveyed through Water. 



The following beautiful experiment, described by Prof. Tyndall, 

 shows how music may be transmitted by an ordinary wooden rod. In 

 a room two floors beneath his lecture-room, there was a piano upon 

 which an artist was playing, but the audience could not hear it. A 

 rod of deal, with its lower end resting upon the sounding-board of the 

 piano, extended upward through the two floors, its upper end being 

 exposed before the lecture-table. But still no sound was heard. A 

 violin was then placed upon the end of the rod, which was thrown into 

 resonance by the ascending thrills, and instantly the music of the piano 

 was given out in the lecture-room. A guitar and a harp were substi- 

 tuted for the violin, and with the same result. The vibrations of the 

 piano-strings were communicated to the sounding-board, they traversed 

 the long rod, were reproduced by the resonant bodies above, the 

 air was carved into waves, and the whole musical composition was de- 

 livered to the listening audience. 



The instrument of hearing in man consists of an external orifice 

 about an inch and a half deep in adults, which is closed at the bottom 

 by the circular tympanic membrane. This membrane, though mod- 

 erately strong, is quite thin, and almost transparent. It is made up 



