measurement of sounds from the cicada
Date: 1937
Inventory Number: 1998-1-0951g
Classification: Chart
Subject:
Maker: George Washington Pierce (1872 - 1956)
Cultural Region:
Dimensions:
0.3 x 52 x 39 cm (1/8 x 20 1/2 x 15 3/8 in.)
in envelope: 0.5 x 40 x 53 cm (3/16 x 15 3/4 x 20 7/8 in.)
Description:
This chart documents the musical sounds made by cicadas in Franklin, New Hampshire by means of a detector, sonic amplifier, and photographic recorder (Pierce 271). Pierce describes the cicada's song as "a powerful, high-pitched, raucous scream, somewhat like the sound made by a circular saw going through a board," and it varies in pitch and intensity (Pierce 272-273).
The "shrilling" noises of male cicadas are not made by stridulation, but instead by the "rapid vibration of a pair of membranes, or drums, situated on the basal abdominal segment" that are called "tymbals" (Pierce 276). When these convex tymbals move inwards and outwards, they make a sharp clicking noise similar to the indentation of a tin can. When heard in sequence, this repeated, shrill, clicking noise made by the tymbals constitutes the song of the cicadas (Pierce 276).
The "shrilling" noises of male cicadas are not made by stridulation, but instead by the "rapid vibration of a pair of membranes, or drums, situated on the basal abdominal segment" that are called "tymbals" (Pierce 276). When these convex tymbals move inwards and outwards, they make a sharp clicking noise similar to the indentation of a tin can. When heard in sequence, this repeated, shrill, clicking noise made by the tymbals constitutes the song of the cicadas (Pierce 276).
Signedunsigned
InscribedOn the top of the chart: CICADA
inscribed into the first strip: Cicada 7.56 C/ July 20 37 (the markings that follow seem to trace a similar cicada on different dates in July 1937 (the 22nd and 25th) and also on August 6th, 1937.
inscribed into the first strip: Cicada 7.56 C/ July 20 37 (the markings that follow seem to trace a similar cicada on different dates in July 1937 (the 22nd and 25th) and also on August 6th, 1937.
Historical AttributesGeorge Washington Pierce first became interested in this insect-chirping project because he was a physics professor at Harvard, and a sub-branch of physics is acoustics. He took a leave of absence from Harvard during WWI to engage in studies of acoustics for the Submarine and Anti-Submarine bases of the US Navy in 1917-1918. He also gave graduate courses in radio communication and acoustic signaling (which involves the production, transmission, and reception of sound signal in air and also water)
(Pierce, 7).
Pierce had an elaborate process for collecting and recording insect noises. The insect sounds were initially detected through a "sound receiver," to detect insect location in field. Then, the insect was observed by Pierce through a lens, captured in a net, carried to a lab, and classified (Pierce, 12-27). The insect's musical sounds recorded by a portable field apparatus with a loudspeaker, at the end of an amplifier box, which incorporated a method of making a record of the pulsations on moving tape (Pierce, 23). These pulsations are inscribed on the white strips with red markings seen on the matte board.
(Pierce, 7).
Pierce had an elaborate process for collecting and recording insect noises. The insect sounds were initially detected through a "sound receiver," to detect insect location in field. Then, the insect was observed by Pierce through a lens, captured in a net, carried to a lab, and classified (Pierce, 12-27). The insect's musical sounds recorded by a portable field apparatus with a loudspeaker, at the end of an amplifier box, which incorporated a method of making a record of the pulsations on moving tape (Pierce, 23). These pulsations are inscribed on the white strips with red markings seen on the matte board.
Curatorial RemarksThe tapes of the sounds are coming off of the chart
Primary SourcesGeorge Washington Pierce, The Songs of Insects (1948, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press).
