PREFACE

TO

THE THIRD EDITION.

In preparing this new edition of Sound, I have carefully reviewed the previous one. I have corrected its shortcomings in style and content as much as possible, while also paying respectful attention to the criticisms and suggestions that the earlier editions provoked.

There are only a few instances where I have been satisfied with simply repeating what I have read in the works of acousticians original: "acousticians"; scientists who study the physics and properties of sound. Instead, I have tried to become familiar with the subject through my own experiments. In every case, I have attempted to present the illustrations in the form and connection most suitable for teaching.

Although this work surely carries its fair share of the imperfections common to all human efforts, it has already been translated into the languages of various nations with different intellectual backgrounds. Last year, for example, a new German edition was published "under the special supervision" of Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894) and Gustav Wiedemann (1826–1899) were towering figures in 19th-century physics and physiology. Helmholtz and Wiedemann. The fact that men so distinguished—and so overburdened with official duties—would take on the extra labor of examining and correcting every proof-sheet of a book like this shows that they...