Altered Sensations (eBook)

Acknowledgments 6
Contents 8
Notes on Acoustical Terms 10
V.S. 10
V.D. 10
Archives Consulted (Abbreviations) 11
Other Abbreviations Found in Text and Notes 11
List of Figures 12
List of Tables 17
Introduction 18
Workshops in the History of Science 19
Showroom: The Business of Instrument Making 23
Laboratory: Instrument Making and Experimentation 25
Life as an Instrument Maker 27
Sound in History 29
Chapter Summary 30
Notes 31
1 Training 34
Journey to Paris 34
Vuillaumes Violin Workshop 18511858 37
From Violins to Tuning Forks 42
The Scientific Instrument Trade in Paris 43
Notes 48
2 Hermann von Helmholtz and the Sensations of Tone 51
Hermann von Helmholtz 52
Physical Acoustics Theory and Instruments (Tuning Forks, Tonometer, Double Siren) 54
Instruments as Agents of Change 57
Experimental Results 58
Physiological Acoustics The Piano as a Model for the Inner Ear 59
Psychological Acoustics Resonators as Aids for Hearing Simple Tones 60
Synthesising Vowels Sounds 63
A Comprehensive Theory of Harmony and Music 65
Notes 66
3 Transformations in the Workshop 69
Inside Parisian Workshops 70
The Phonautograph and the Origins of Graphical Acoustics 73
Precision and Graphical Acoustics 79
The Plaque tournante at Rue Hautefeuille: Transforming Helmholtzs Acoustics 82
Demonstrating Helmholtz: Adam Politzer and Koenig at the Acadmie des Sciences 88
Manometric Flame Capsule and Optical Acoustics 90
Notes 92
4 The Market and Its Influences 96
The First Year of Business from the Workshop to the Classroom 97
1862 Exhibition at London 99
Selling Helmholtzs Instruments 100
Function Replaces Beauty: 1867 Paris Exposition 103
Americans at the Fair 105
William B. Rogers, Alexander Graham Bell and MIT 106
The Parisian Science Monopoly and a Portuguese Customer 108
Notes 110
5 Constructing a Reputation, 18661879 113
Measuring the Velocity of Sound in the Sewers of Paris 114
Creating Vowels Sounds Out of Wood, Brass and Steel 116
Seeing a Voice: Manometric Vowel Studies 118
Extending the Tonometer, One File Mark at a Time 121
Choosing the Right Steel 122
Bringing the Workshop into Combination-Tone Studies 126
Precision and Livelihood Under Attack: The Koenig Clock Fork 130
Notes 135
6 Expanding the North American Market, 18711882 139
Recovery from the Turmoil of 18701871 140
The Third Catalogue, 1873 142
Joseph Henry and the Smithsonian Institution 144
Centennial Exhibition, 1876 145
James Loudon and the University of Toronto 149
Cette Ville de Malheur 153
Public Lectures at Toronto 156
Notes 160
7 The Faraday of Sound 163
Life at Quai dAnjou: 18821901 164
The Combination-Tone Controversy in England 173
Workshop as Theatre 175
Heidelberg 1889: the German Response 178
The Debate over Timbre 179
Wave Sirens 182
Back to Vibrations 187
Ultrasonics and Le Domaine de la Fantaisie 188
Notes 190
Conclusion Beyond Sensations 196
Notes 199
Appendix A -- Key Dates in Rudolph Koenig's Life 200
Catalogue Raisonn of Koenig Instruments 202
Catalogue Raisonné of Koenig Instruments 202
Based on the Catalogue Titles in Koenigs 1889 Catalogue 1 202
Locations 203
I. The Principal Means for Producing Sound 205
II. Cause and Nature of Sound 212
III. Pitch of Sounds 222
IV. Timbre of Sound 243
V. Propagation of Sound 254
VI. Simple Vibrations of the Different Bodies 261
Vibrations of Air 263
Vibrations of Membranes 288
Vibrations of Strings 291
Vibrations of Rods and Bars 294
Vibration of Plates 297
VII. Communications of Vibrations Vibrations of Compound Bodies: Compound Vibrations of Simple Bodies 300
VIII. Phenomena Due to the Coexistence of Two or More Sounds in Air 317
IX. Methods of Studying Sonorous Vibrations Without the Assistance of the Ear 332
Optical Method 341
Manometric Flame Method 346
Stroboscopic Method 359
X. Apparatus for the Mechanical Representation of Vibrations and Wave Movements 364
XI. Acoustic Apparatus for Practical Use 367
Miscellaneous Instruments Not Found in Koenig Catalogues 368
Notes 369
Bibiliography 371
Index 392