Galton Whistle
Galton Whistle
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- In 1876, an English scientist named Francis Galton introduced a whistle for testing the upper limits of audible sound in different persons. One of Galton's discoveries was the loss of hearing in high frequencies as persons aged. The whistle was often used in later psychological experiments where the subject was asked to indicate the discernment of tones. The whistle's inability to emit a tone of constant pitch was it's main deficit, leading many researchers away from its use, especially as electronic equipment became available.
- The “EDELMANN / MUNICH” inscription on this exampleis that of Max Thomas Edelmann, an instrument maker in Munich who improved the form in 1900. The serial number is 468.
- Ref: “The Galton Whistle,” Science 12 (1900): 613.
- Physikalisch-mechanischen Institut von Prof. Dr. M. Th. Edelmann & Sohn, Die Edelmannschen Grenzpfeifen (Galtonpfeifen) von D. M. Edelmann (Munich, 1921).
- Galton, Francis, "Inquries into Human Faculty and Its Development: Whistles for Audibility of Shrill Notes (1883), in Dennis, W. Readings in the History of Psychology, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1948: 277
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- Whistle
- Other Terms
- Whistle; Diagnostic Medicine
- date made
- around 1900
- used at
- Cornell University
- maker
- Edelmann, H.
- Edelmann, Max Thomas
- place made
- Germany: Bavaria, Munich
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- felt (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 3.7 cm x 18.8 cm x 6.7 cm; 1 7/16 in x 7 3/8 in x 2 5/8 in
- ID Number
- MG.300427.196
- catalog number
- 300427.196
- accession number
- 300427
- Credit Line
- Cornell University Department of Psychology
- subject
- Science & Scientific Instruments
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Medicine
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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