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dation wrought in the minute parts, and so reneweth the percussion of the air. This appeareth manifestly, because that the melting sound of a bell, or of a string strucken, which is thought to be a continuance, ceaseth as soon as the bell or string are touched. As in a virginal, as soon as ever the jack falleth, and toucheth the string, the sound ceaseth; and in a bell, after you have chimed upon it, if you touch the bell the sound ceaseth. And in this you must distinguish that there are two trepidations: the one manifest and local; as of the bell when it is pensile: the other secret, of the minute parts; such as is described in the ninth instance. But it is true, that the local helpeth the secret greatly. We see likewise that in pipes, and other wind-instruments, the sound lasteth no longer than the breath bloweth. It is true, that in organs there is a confused murmur for a while after you have played; but that is but while the bellows are in falling.

208. IT is certain, that in the noise of great ordnance, where many are shot off together, the sound will be carried, at the least, twenty miles upon the land, and much farther upon the water. But then it will come to the ear, not in the instant of the shooting off, but it will come an hour or more later. This must needs be a continuance of the first sound; for there is no trepidation which should renew it. And the touching of the ordnance would not extinguish the sound the sooner: so that in great sounds the continuance is more than momentany.

209. To try exactly the time wherein sound is delated, let a man stand in a steeple, and have with him a taper; and let some vail be put before the taper; and let another man stand in the field a mile off. Then let him in the steeple strike the bell; and in the same instant withdraw the vail; and so let him in the field tell by his pulse what destance of time there is between the light seen, and the sound heard for it is certain that the delation of light is in an instant. This may be tried in far greater distances, allowing greater lights and sounds.

210. IT is generally known and observed that light, and the object of sight, move swifter than sound: for we see the flash of a piece is seen sooner than the noise is heard. And in hewing wood, if one be some distance off, he shall see the arm lifted up for a second stroke, before he hear the noise of the first. And the greater the distance, the greater is the prevention as we see in thunder which is far off, where the lightning precedeth the crack a good space.

211. COLOURS, when they represent themselves to the eye, fade not, nor melt not by degrees, but appear still in the same strength; but sounds melt and vanish by little and little. The cause is, for that colours participate nothing with the motion of the air, but sounds do. And it is a plain argument, that sound participateth of some local motion of the air, as a cause sine qua non, in that it perisheth so suddenly; for in every section or impulsion of the air, the air doth suddenly restore and reunite itself; which the water also doth, but nothing so swiftly.

Experiments in consort touching the passage and interceptions of sounds.

IN the trials of the passage, or not passage of sounds, you must take heed you mistake not the passing by the sides of a body, for the passing through a body; and therefore you must make the intercepting body very close; for sound will pass through a small chink.

212. WHERE sound passeth through a hard or close body, as through water; through a wall; through metal, as in hawks bells stopped, etc. the hard or close body must be but thin and small; for else it deadeth and extinguisheth the sound utterly. And therefore in the experiment of speaking in air under water, the voice must not be very deep within the water for then the sound pierceth not. So if you speak on the farther side of a close wall, if the wall be very thick you shall not be heard; and if there were an hogshead empty, whereof the sides were some two foot thick, and the bunghole stopped; I conceive the resounding sound, by the communica

tion of the outward air with the air within, would be little or none: but only you shall hear the noise of the outward knock, as if the vessel were full.

213. It is certain, that in the passage of sounds through hard bodies the spirit or pneumatical part of the hard body itself doth co-operate; but much better when the sides of that hard body are struck, than when the percussion is only within, without touch of the sides. Take therefore a hawk's bell, the holes stopped up, and hang it by a thread within a bottle glass, and stop the mouth of the glass very close with wax; and then shake the glass, and see whether the bell give any sound at all, or how weak: but note, that you must instead of the thread take a wire; or else let the glass have a great belly; lest when you shake the bell, it dash upon the sides of the glass.

214. IT is plain, that a very long and downright arch for the sound to pass, will extinguish the sound quite; so that that sound, which would be heard over a wall, will not be heard over a church; nor that sound, which will be heard if you stand some distance from the wall, will be heard if you stand close under the wall.

215. SOFT and foraminous bodies, in the first creation of the sound, will dead it; for the striking against cloth or furr will make little sound; as hath been said: but in the passage of the sound, they will admit it better than harder bodies; as we see, that curtains and hangings will not stay the sound much; but glass windows, if they be very close, will check a sound more than the like thickness of cloth. We see also in the rumbling of the belly, how easily the sound passeth through the guts and skin.

216. It is worthy the inquiry, whether great sounds, as of ordnance or bells, become not more weak and exile when they pass through small crannies. For the subtilties of articulate sounds, it may be, may pass through small crannies not confused; but the magnitude of the sound, perhaps, not so well.

Experimentsin consort touching the medium of sounds. 217. THE mediums of sounds are air; soft and porous bodies; also water. And hard bodies refuse not altogether to be mediums of sounds. But all of them are dull and unapt deferents, except the air.

218. IN air, the thinner or drier air carrieth not the sound so well as the more dense; as appeareth in night sounds and evening sounds, and sounds in moist weather and southern winds. The reason is already mentioned in the title of majoration of sounds; being for that thin air is better pierced; but thick air preserveth the sound better from waste: let further trial be made by hollowing in mists and gentle showers; for, it may be, that will somewhat dead the sound.

219. How far forth flame may be a medium of sounds, especially of such sounds as are created by air, and not betwixt hard bodies, let it be tried in speaking where a bonfire is between; but then you must allow for some disturbance the noise that the flame itself maketh.

220. WHETHER any other liquors, being made mediums, cause a diversity of sound from water, it may be tried as by the knapping of the tongs; or striking of the bottom of a vessel, filled either with milk or with oil; which, though they be more light, yet are they more unequal bodies than air.

Of the natures of the mediums we have now spoken; as for the disposition of the said mediums, it deth consist in the penning, or not penning of the air; of which we have spoken before in the title of delation of sounds: it consisteth also in the figure of the concave through which it passeth; of which we will speak next,

Experiments in consort, what the figures of the pipes, or concaves, or the bodies deferent, conduce to the sounds.

How the figures of pipes, or concaves, through which sounds pass, or of other bodies deferent, conduce to the variety and alteration of the sounds; either in respect of the greater quantity, or less quantity of air,

which the concaves receive; or in respect of the carrying of sounds longer and shorter way; or in respect of many other circumstances; they have been touched, as falling into other titles. But those figures which we now are to speak of, we intend to be, as they concern the lines through which the sound passeth; as straight, crooked, angular, circular, etc.

221. THE figure of a bell partaketh of the pyramis, but yet coming off and dilating more suddenly. The figure of a hunter's horn and cornet is oblique; yet they have likewise straight horns; which, if they be of the saine bore with the oblique, differ little in sound, save that the straight require somewhat a stronger blast. The figures of recorders, and flutes, and pipes, are straight; but the recorder hath a less bore and a greater, above and below. The trumpet hath the figure of the letter S: which maketh that purling sound, etc. Generally the straight line hath the cleanest and roundest sound, and the crooked, the more hoarse and jarring.

222. Or a sinuous pipe that may have some four flexions, trial would be made. Likewise of a pipe made like a cross, open in the midst. And so likewise of an angular pipe: and see what will be the effects of these several sounds. And so again of a circular pipe; as if you take a pipe perfect round, and make a hole whereinto you shall blow, and another hole not far from that; but with a traverse or stop between them; so that your breath may go the round of the circle, and come forth at the second hole. You may try likewise percussions of solid bodies of several figures; as globes, flats, cubes, crosses, triangles, etc. and their combinations, as flat against flat, and convex against convex, and convex against flat, etc. and mark well the diversities of the sounds. Try also the difference in sound of several crassitudes of hard bodies percussed; and take knowledge of the diversities of the sounds. I myself have tried, that a bell of gold yieldeth an excellent sound, not inferior to that of silver or brass, but rather better: yet we see that a piece of money of gold soundeth far more flat than a piece of money of silver.

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