XI. Experiments for ascertaining the velocity of sound, at Madras in the East Indies

The manner in which sound is conveyed, and the theory of its velocity, are too well known, and are to he found in too many scientific works, to need detailed repetition here. The actual rate of its motion, particularly in different states of the atmosphere, does not appear, however, to have been so well agreed upon by Philosophers. A scientific writer* in a standard work, states “That some of the most eminent philosophers, judging that the knowledge of the flight of sound might be of use on various occasions, have been at extraordinary pains and expense to measure the rate at which it moved; and the result of their experiments, particularly of those which were best conducted, is as follows: 1. “ That the velocity of sound is the same, whether by sea or by land, in dry or in rainy weather, by day or by night, in winter or summer.