XI 



ON THE STUDY OF PHYSICS' 



I HOLD in my liand an uncorrected proof of the sylla- 

 bus of this course of lectures, and the title of the 

 present lecture is there stated to be "On the Impor- 

 tance of the Study of Physics as a Means oi Education.'' 

 The corrected proof, however, contains the title; "On 

 the Importance of the Study of Physics as a Branch of 

 Education.'* Small as this editorial alteration may seem, 

 the two words suggest two radically distinct modes of 

 viewing the subject before us. The term Education is 

 sometimes applied to a single faculty or organ, and, if 

 we know wherein the education of a single faculty con- 

 sists, this will help us to clearer notions regarding the 

 education of the sum of all the faculties or of the mind. 

 When, for example, we speak of the education of the 

 voice, what do we mean? There are certain membranes 

 at the top of the windpipe which throw into vibration 

 the air forced between them from the lungs, thus pro- 

 ducing musical sounds. These membranes are, to some 

 extent, under the control of the will, and it is found that 

 they can be so modified by exercise as to produce notes 

 of a clearer and more melodious character. This exercise 



* From a Lecture delivered in the Royal Institution of Great Britain in the 

 spring of 1854. 



