WITHDRAWN FROM THE ACTION OF GRAVITY. 333 
Yet it would not be impossible that the sound under consideration might 
eause the sheaf to disappear; in effect, this sound being already very grave, 
at least in regard to the vein upon which I operated, its vibrations have much 
amplitude, and might (§ 22) act with sufficient energy to prevent the formation 
of the constrictions in conflict, and thus leave in the vein only the divisions 
which they tend of themselves to produce, in which case all the isolated masses 
would necessarily have the same velocity, namely, the normal velocity. 
Let us examine, in'the second place, the influence of the grave fifth of the 
preceding sound, or, in other words, of the double grave fifth of the principal 
sound. ‘The vibrations of this double fifth being three times less rapid than 
those of the principal sound, it may readily be concluded that each of the 
divisions which they tend of themselves to occasion in the vein comprises 
exactly three of the divisions due to the configurative forces. We see, more- 
over, that, of the three dilatations contained in this assemblage of divisions, 
the last has behind it a favored constriction and before a constriction in con- 
flict, while the foremost has, on the contrary, before it a favored constriction 
and behind a constriction in conflict, and, finally, that the intermediate one is 
between these two constrictions in conflict, which are identical with one another 
at their respective origms. Hence the quantities of movement will necessarily 
be distributed, in the isolated masses proceeding from these three divisions, in 
such manner that the last will quit the continuous part with a velocity superior 
to the normal velocity, the foremost will acquire a velocity inferior to this 
normal velocity, and the intermediate will quit with the normal velocity itself; 
and as, still on account of the perfect regularity of the vibrations, the circum- 
stances are identically the same in each of the systems of three divisions, there 
can be, in the discontinuous part, but three different velocities. If, then, the 
action of the vibrations do not mask entirely that which, before its influence, 
the configurative forces freely exerted, the sheaf will be resolved into three 
distinct jets; and if, on the contrary, the action of the configurative forces is 
completely controlled, which ought to take place even more easily than for 
the grave octave, on account of the still greater amplitude of the vibrations, 
there will be but one jet, as we have shown to be the case above. 
As to the separation into two jets, under the influence also of the double 
grave fifth, a result which experiment equally yields, we can account for it in 
the following manner: When the action of the vibrations is preponderant, and 
there arise, at the contracted section, only the divisions which it determines, 
these have a greater length, since each of them occupies the place of three of 
the divisions which the configurative forces would form; but we know (2d 
series, § 55) that every liquid figure, of which one dimension is considerable 
relatively to the two others, tends to separation into isolated masses; we can 
conceive, then, that in the divisions in question, if the acquired transverse 
velocities are not sufficient to oppose it, there may be new configurative forces 
developed which separate each of these divisions into two others by hollowing 
out a constriction in its middle, and, as all constrictions thus produced are 
evidently in conflict, the reasoning employed in regard to the grave octave 
shows that we ought then to obtain two jets. 
Let us remark here, that the anomalous configurative forces, to which we 
have just had reference, could ferm, in each large division, only one constric- 
tion; if they formed two, which would separate each large division into three 
small ones, these would have the same length with the divisions of the vein 
not submitted to the influence of the sonorous instrument; but, for this to be 
possible, it would be necessary that the new divisions should not experience 
more resistance in their formation than in the absence of ail extraneous action; 
for we may conclude from what takes place in cylinders (2d series, §§ 58 and 
59) that, in every liquid figure, more or less analogous, the length of the divi- 
