A NEW THEOEY OF HEABING. 323 



pressure on its outer surface while the pressure on its 

 inner surface remains nearly constant, produces effects 

 upon the ossicles of the middle ear. To determine 

 whether the ossicles move as a whole or as some have 

 maintained they "transmit the sound molecularly " it is 

 necessary to make a rough estimate of the velocity of 

 sound in them and to consider what is the length of a 

 sound wave when transversing the series of ossicles. 



To determine this accurately is not easy but it is quite 

 unnecessary : an error of even 10000 per cent, is of no 

 consequence. The lowest audible tone is not the same 

 for all hearers, but few if any can hear as a tone any 

 sound due to less than 10 vibrations a second. A pure 

 tone of 40000 vibrations is audible to some and the pro- 

 duction of beats and beat-tones by simultaneous action of 

 two sets of waves some of which in one series follow 

 others in the other series at smaller intervals of time than 

 this has been demonstrated by Koenig and others. It is 

 only necessary therefore to consider whether the time 

 required for transmission of a sound wave through these 

 ossicles lies between xowoth second and yVth second, or 

 above or below those limits. The mere consideration of 

 the question even without answering it, suffices to show 

 that the distinction drawn between the two modes of 

 transmission is a distinction in words rather than in 

 phenomena. If the wave length in the ossicles is much 

 smaller than the length of the chain it would be said that 

 the transmission is "molecular;" if it is much longer 

 than the chain it would be said that it is " molar." The 

 nature of the transmission is, however, identical in the 

 two cases and the distinction is purely verbal and useless. 

 The transmission of energy along a pulled bell-wire is of 

 the same nature as the transmission of a sound wave : 

 the energy is indeed transmitted as a true sound wave of 



