Die Akustik... by Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni

Leipzig:: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1802., 1802. Square 4to. (233 x 210 mm) xxxii, 310 pp. Engraved portrait vignette of the author, by F.W. Bollinger, on title-page, plus 11 engraved plates*. Modern half tan calf over marbled boards, raised bands, gilt-stamped green morocco spine label. Exlib ink stamps, bookplate of Andras Gedeon. Fine. FIRST EDITION. "Chladni, professor of physics in Breslau, was the first to reduce the general association between vibration and pitch to a tabular basis and thus to lay the foundation of the modern science of acoustics. His first results were reported in New Discoveries in the Theory of Sound (1787), and were greatly enlarged in Acoustics (1802). [Printing and the Mind of Man]. / "By spreading sand over plates and running a violin low over their edges, Chladni was able to observe the structure of the resulting vibrations, because the sand collected along the nodal curves where there was no motion. Patterns formed in this way were symmetrical and often spectacular, the… Read More

Leipzig: Breitkopf und Hartel, 1802. First edition, 4to, pp. [2], xxxii, 310, engraved vignette portrait on title page, 11 folding plates; original marbled paper-covered boards, paper label on spine; binding and label rubbed, but a good, sound copy, unrestored; contained in a brown leather slipcase. "Chladni (1756-1827), professor of physics in Breslau, was the first to reduce the general association between vibration and pitch to a tabular basis, and thus to lay the foundation of the modern science of acoustics. His first results were first reported in New Discoveries in the Theory of Sound, 1787, and were greatly enlarged upon in Acoustics, 1802. He spread sand on plates made of metal and glass, which were fixed in clamps. He then applied a violin bow to the edge of each plate and recorded the patterns produced thereby in the sand. These figures are still known by Chladni's name" (Printing and the Mind of Man 288b). Chladni was from an early age interested in music, and was himself an amateur… Read More