MECHANICS OF THE INNER EAR 79 



But this is an arbitrary assumption, and the results of the ta- 

 ble, as is shown farther below, would look different if the total 

 movement did not extend just so far, but farther or less far. 

 We must not, then, regard this result as final, but simply ob- 

 serve if it tends to change the relative intensities in such a 

 direction as might correct the intensities which seemed some- 

 what objectionable. Now, we objected, first, to the fact that 

 the higher of the primary tones had such a slight intensity com- 

 pared with the lower one, 22.5 per cent compared with 55.0 

 per cent. Now we see that taking into account the tapering 

 of the partition raises the intensity of the tone 9 to 53.7 per 

 cent and lowers that of the tone 4 to 34.8 per cent. As stated 

 before, these particular figures must not be regarded as a final 

 result. It is irrelevant that now the lower tone is weaker than 

 the higher. What is important is the fact that the influence 

 in question is in the direction in which it must be in order to 

 correct the objectionable features of the former computation. 

 A further result of this influence is the reduction of the former 

 intensity of the difference tone 1, which we regarded as 

 rather high, from 15.0 per cent to 6.4 per cent — again a change 

 in the desired direction. 



We can obtain here a more special insight in addition 

 to the general insight into the fact that tapering of the par- 

 tition tends to increase the intensities of the 



_,, , . . tones produced by the initial sections, to 



The relative in- ^ . -' 



tensities not inde- decrease the intensities of the tones pro- 

 pendent of the duced by more distant sections of the par- 

 absolute intensity tition. More especially, we shall observe 

 of the compound that the amount of this increasing or de- 

 ^ creasing influence varies according as the 

 total length of the partition section set in 

 motion varies, that is, as the total intensity of the compound 

 sound heard varies. Imagine, for example, three tones, which 

 we call A, B, and C, being produced by successive sections of 



