[ 96 J 
XI. Experiments for ascertaining the Velocity of Sound, at 
Madras in the East Indies. By John Goldingham, Esq. 
F. R. S. 
Read February 20, 1823. 
The manner in which sound is conveyed, and the theory 
of its velocity, are too well known, and are to be found in too 
many scientific works, to need detailed repetition here. The 
actual rate of its motion, particularly in different states of the 
atmosphere, does not appear, however, to have been so well 
agreed upon by Philosophers. A scientific writer* in a 
standard work, states “ That some of the most eminent 
philosophers, judging that the knowledge of the flight of 
sound might be of use on various occasions, have been at 
extraordinary pains and expense to measure the rate at which 
it moved ; and the result of their experiments, particularly 
of those which were best conducted, is as follows : 
1 . “ That the velocity of sound is the same, whether by sea 
or by land, in dry or in rainy weather, by day or by night, 
in winter or summer. 
2. “ That sound, whether more or less strong, flies with the 
same swiftness. For, by experiments, a cannon fired with a 
half-pound charge of powder was heard at about the distance 
of seventeen miles and a half in the same time after the flash 
was seen, as it was when fired with a charge of 6lbs. 
* Robertson. 
