- Email: [email protected]
Alloy of steel
Uniform Musical DiaTason.
207
heavy pressure obtained by the hydraulic press. I f the paste has been enclosed in moulds it will take the form of the mould, and resembles pieces of ebony carved by a skilful hand. Another curious application of this paste consists in the formation of brushes ; the bristles are arranged in the paste while yet soft; the paste is covered by a plate pierced with holes, through which the bristles pass ; the pressure is then applied, and brushes are obtained, made of a single piece, cheaper and more lasting than the usual kind. This artificial wood of M. Ladry is much heavier than common woods.-~osmo8.
Alloy of Steel.* Experiments have been made at ¥ienna, Dresden, and other places, in the use of tungsten or wolfram in the alloying of steel, and some extraordinary results are stated to have been achieved. It is said that !steel alloyed'with 20 per cent. of tungsten produces a mixture, which, while it retains all the general qualities of steel, is so excessively hard that tools made of it will cut, without difficulty, the hardest cast steel. Large quantities of th~ new alloyed metal are said to be in preparation, and a company is about to be formed to work the discovery.
Uniform Musical JDiapason.t Very considerable inconvenience has long been felt in the musical world in consequence of the want of a uniform standard by which the pitch of musical instruments, whether used individually or in concert, might be regulated. The tendency in all the most celebrated orchestras to an increased elevation of pitch has been attended by evils which affect the interests of music in no small degree. Composers, instrument-makers, and artists are alike sufferers from this cause, and the great difference existing between the pitches (or diapasons, as they are called,) of various countries, or of various musical establishments, is frequently a fertile source of embarrassment in musical transactions. With a view to remedy this acknowledged and growing evil, the French government some time ago appointed a commission of distinguished men to discuss and collect information upon the whole question; and the result of their labors has lately appeared in the Monlteur, in the shape of a very elaborate and interesting report.$ The commission consisted of fourteen members, all of them eminent in the world of music or science, as the following enumeration of their names will show :--Pelletier (Secretary-General in the Ministry of State, President), Hal6vy, Auber, Berlioz, Despretz (Professor of Physics at the Faculty of Science), Camille Doucet (Ministerial Head of the Theatrical Department), Lissajous (Professor of Physics at the * From the Lond. Mechanics' Mag., April, 1859.
t From the Lond. Jour. of the Soc. of Arts, No. 339.
~:Rapport pr~sent~~ son Excellencele Ministre d'Etat par la Commission charg6e d'6tablir en France un Diapason :~IusicalUniforme.
207
heavy pressure obtained by the hydraulic press. I f the paste has been enclosed in moulds it will take the form of the mould, and resembles pieces of ebony carved by a skilful hand. Another curious application of this paste consists in the formation of brushes ; the bristles are arranged in the paste while yet soft; the paste is covered by a plate pierced with holes, through which the bristles pass ; the pressure is then applied, and brushes are obtained, made of a single piece, cheaper and more lasting than the usual kind. This artificial wood of M. Ladry is much heavier than common woods.-~osmo8.
Alloy of Steel.* Experiments have been made at ¥ienna, Dresden, and other places, in the use of tungsten or wolfram in the alloying of steel, and some extraordinary results are stated to have been achieved. It is said that !steel alloyed'with 20 per cent. of tungsten produces a mixture, which, while it retains all the general qualities of steel, is so excessively hard that tools made of it will cut, without difficulty, the hardest cast steel. Large quantities of th~ new alloyed metal are said to be in preparation, and a company is about to be formed to work the discovery.
Uniform Musical JDiapason.t Very considerable inconvenience has long been felt in the musical world in consequence of the want of a uniform standard by which the pitch of musical instruments, whether used individually or in concert, might be regulated. The tendency in all the most celebrated orchestras to an increased elevation of pitch has been attended by evils which affect the interests of music in no small degree. Composers, instrument-makers, and artists are alike sufferers from this cause, and the great difference existing between the pitches (or diapasons, as they are called,) of various countries, or of various musical establishments, is frequently a fertile source of embarrassment in musical transactions. With a view to remedy this acknowledged and growing evil, the French government some time ago appointed a commission of distinguished men to discuss and collect information upon the whole question; and the result of their labors has lately appeared in the Monlteur, in the shape of a very elaborate and interesting report.$ The commission consisted of fourteen members, all of them eminent in the world of music or science, as the following enumeration of their names will show :--Pelletier (Secretary-General in the Ministry of State, President), Hal6vy, Auber, Berlioz, Despretz (Professor of Physics at the Faculty of Science), Camille Doucet (Ministerial Head of the Theatrical Department), Lissajous (Professor of Physics at the * From the Lond. Mechanics' Mag., April, 1859.
t From the Lond. Jour. of the Soc. of Arts, No. 339.
~:Rapport pr~sent~~ son Excellencele Ministre d'Etat par la Commission charg6e d'6tablir en France un Diapason :~IusicalUniforme.