Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 46.djvu/684

666 of the frequent failure of sound signals was that adopted by Prof. Henry in America, a distinguished worker upon this subject. Tyndall's investigations, however, led him to favor another explanation. His view was that sound was actually reflected by atmospheric irregularities. He observed, what appears to be amply sufficient to establish his case, that prolonged signals from fog sirens give rise to echoes audible after the signal has stopped. This echo was heard from the air over the sea, and lasted in many cases a long time, up to fifteen seconds. There seems here no alternative but to suppose that reflection must have occurred internally in the atmosphere. In some cases the explanation of the occasional diminished penetration of sound seems to be rather by refraction, and in others by reflection.

Tyndall proved that a single layer of hot air is sufficient to cause reflection, and I propose to repeat his experiment. The source of sound, a toy reed, is placed at one end of one metallic tube, and a sensitive flame at one end of a second. The opposite ends of these tubes are placed near each other, but in a position which does not permit the sound waves issuing from the one to enter the other directly. Accordingly, the flame shows no response. If, however, a pane of glass be held suitably, the waves are reflected back and the flame is excited. Tyndall's experiment consists in the demonstration that a flat gas flame is competent to act the part of a reflector. When I hold the gas flame in the proper position, the percipient flame flares; when the flat flame is removed or held at an unsuitable angle, there is almost complete recovery.

It is true that in the atmosphere no such violent transitions of density can occur as are met with in a flame; but, on the other hand, the interruptions may be very numerous, as is indeed rendered probable by the phenomena of stellar scintillation.

The third portion of my subject must be treated very briefly. The guiding idea of much of Tyndall's work on atmospheric particles was the application of an intense illumination to render them evident. Fine particles of mastic, precipitated on admixture of varnish with a large quantity of water, had already been examined by Brücke. Chemically precipitated sulphur is convenient, and allows the influence of size to be watched as the particles grow. But the most interesting observations of Tyndall relate to precipitates in gases caused by the chemical action of the light itself. This may be illustrated by causing the concentrated rays of the electric lamp to pass through a flask containing vapor of peroxide of chlorine. Within a few seconds dense clouds are produced.

When the particles are very small in comparison with the