An account of the mechanism of an automaton, or image playing on the German-flute: as it was presented in a memoire, to the gentlemen of the Royal-Academy of Sciences at Paris ... By M.V., inventor ... of the ... machine. Together with a description of an artificial duck, eating, drinking, macerating the food, and voiding excrements; pluming her wings, picking her feathers, and performing several operations in imitation of a living duck ... as also that of another image, no less wonderful than the first, playing on the tabor and pipe ... / Translated out of the French original, by J.T. Desaguliers.

  • Vaucanson, Jacques de, 1709-1782
Date:
1742
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the mechanism of an automaton, or image playing on the German-flute: as it was presented in a memoire, to the gentlemen of the Royal-Academy of Sciences at Paris ... By M.V., inventor ... of the ... machine. Together with a description of an artificial duck, eating, drinking, macerating the food, and voiding excrements; pluming her wings, picking her feathers, and performing several operations in imitation of a living duck ... as also that of another image, no less wonderful than the first, playing on the tabor and pipe ... / Translated out of the French original, by J.T. Desaguliers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    7/28 (page 5)
    ' ( s ) is only determined by the Quicknefs or Slownefs of thofe Vibrations, If in an equal Time they are to be con¬ tinued in a greater Number of the Parts of the Body ftruck, they will lofe more of their Motion, and con- fequently of their Swiftnefs ; and thus, becoming flower in the fame Time, they produce a lets lively Sound ; and this makes the deep or low Tones, This happens when all the Holes of the Piute are ftop’d. The Vibrations, which begin exaftly at the Hole of the Mouth, mu ft be communicated to all the Parts of the Wood at the fame Time ; therefore they are fuddenly weaken’d, becaufe their Force is divided among a great Number of Particles ; which will make the Flute give the loweft Sound, If you open the ftrft Hole next the Bottom of the Flute, the Vibrations find an Ifliie fooner, which in¬ terrupts their Continuation in the reft of the Parts of the Body of the Flute: They have fewer Particles to ftrike, (the PhJC t^ïng rbortncd by opening the faid Hole ) thus, lofing a little lefs of their Force, be¬ caufe there are now fewer Particles among which they mu ft be divided, they will have a little more Swiftnefs; and being quicker in the fame Time, they will pro¬ duce a lefs deep Sound, and that will be a Tone higher. The other Tones will rife gradually, as the upper Holes are unftopp’d. When you come to unftop the Hole which is neareft to the Mouth, that Hole dividing the inward Space of the Flute into two equal Parts, the Vibrations will find an Mue in the Middle of the Way that they are to run, to continue to the End of the Pipe ; therefore they will go out with as much more Force and Velocity, having only half the Particles, among which they mu ft divide thomfelves; and confequently will produce a Sound as high