Rudolph Koenig
Encyclopedia
Karl Rudolph Koenig known by himself and others as Rudolph Koenig, was a German
physicist
, chiefly concerned with acoustic
phenomena.
Koenig was born in Königsberg
(Province of Prussia
), and studied at the University of Königsberg
in his native town.
About 1852 he went to Paris, and became apprentice to the famous violin
-maker, Jean Baptiste Vuillaume
(1798-1875), and some six years later he started business on his own account. He called himself a "maker of musical instrument
s," but the instrument for which his name is best known is the tuning fork
. Koenig's work speedily gained a high reputation among physicist
s for accuracy and general excellence. From this business Koenig derived his livelihood for the rest of his life. One of his last catalogs had 262 different items.
He was, however, very far from being a mere tradesman. Acoustical
research was his real interest, and to that he devoted all the time and money he could spare from his business. In the 1860s, the Koenig sound analyzer revolutionized musical and scientific worlds by demonstrated visually that musical notes and voices were in fact made up of simple sounds. An exhibit which he sent to the London Exhibition
of 1862 gained a gold medal, and at the Philadelphia Exposition
at 1876 great admiration was expressed for a tonometric
apparatus of his manufacture. This consisted of about 670 tuning-forks, of as many different pitches
, extending over four octave
s, and it afforded a perfect means for testing, by enumeration of the beats, the number of vibrations producing any given note
and for accurately tuning any musical instrument
. An attempt was made to secure this apparatus for the University of Pennsylvania
, and Koenig was induced to leave it behind him in America on the assurance that it would be purchased; but, ultimately, the money not being forthcoming, the arrangement fell through, to his great disappointment.
Some of the forks he disposed of to the University of Toronto
and the remainder he used as a nucleus for the construction of a still more elaborate tonometer. While the range of the old apparatus was only between 128 and 4096 Hz, the lowest fork of the new one vibrated at only 16 Hz, while the highest gave a sound too high to be perceptible to the human ear.
Koenig will also be remembered as the inventor and constructor of many other beautiful pieces of apparatus for the investigation of acoustical problems, among which may be mentioned his wave-sirens, the first of which was shown at Philadelphia in 1876. His original work dealt, among other things, with Wheatstone
's sound-figures, the characteristic notes of the different vowel
s, a manometric flame apparatus
, a vibration microscope, among others; but perhaps the most important of his researches are those devoted to the phenomena produced by the interference
of two tones, in which he disputed the views of Helmholtz
as to the existence of summation and difference tones.
He died in Paris.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, chiefly concerned with acoustic
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
phenomena.
Koenig was born in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
(Province of Prussia
Province of Prussia
The Province of Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1829-1878 created out of the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia....
), and studied at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
in his native town.
About 1852 he went to Paris, and became apprentice to the famous violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
-maker, Jean Baptiste Vuillaume
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was an illustrious French violin maker. He made over 3,000 instruments and was also a fine businessman and an inventor.-Early life:...
(1798-1875), and some six years later he started business on his own account. He called himself a "maker of musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s," but the instrument for which his name is best known is the tuning fork
Tuning fork
A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal . It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object, and emits a pure musical tone after waiting a...
. Koenig's work speedily gained a high reputation among physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s for accuracy and general excellence. From this business Koenig derived his livelihood for the rest of his life. One of his last catalogs had 262 different items.
He was, however, very far from being a mere tradesman. Acoustical
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
research was his real interest, and to that he devoted all the time and money he could spare from his business. In the 1860s, the Koenig sound analyzer revolutionized musical and scientific worlds by demonstrated visually that musical notes and voices were in fact made up of simple sounds. An exhibit which he sent to the London Exhibition
1862 International Exhibition
The International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
of 1862 gained a gold medal, and at the Philadelphia Exposition
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
at 1876 great admiration was expressed for a tonometric
Tonometry
Tonometry is the procedure eye care professionals perform to determine the intraocular pressure , the fluid pressure inside the eye. It is an important test in the evaluation of patients at risk from glaucoma...
apparatus of his manufacture. This consisted of about 670 tuning-forks, of as many different pitches
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
, extending over four octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, and it afforded a perfect means for testing, by enumeration of the beats, the number of vibrations producing any given note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
and for accurately tuning any musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
. An attempt was made to secure this apparatus for the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and Koenig was induced to leave it behind him in America on the assurance that it would be purchased; but, ultimately, the money not being forthcoming, the arrangement fell through, to his great disappointment.
Some of the forks he disposed of to the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and the remainder he used as a nucleus for the construction of a still more elaborate tonometer. While the range of the old apparatus was only between 128 and 4096 Hz, the lowest fork of the new one vibrated at only 16 Hz, while the highest gave a sound too high to be perceptible to the human ear.
Charles Wheatstone
Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS , was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope , and the Playfair cipher...
's sound-figures, the characteristic notes of the different vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s, a manometric flame apparatus
Koenig's manometric flame apparatus
Koenig's manometric flame apparatus was a laboratory instrument invented in 1862 by the German physicist Rudolph Koenig, and used to visualize sound waves. It was the nearest equivalent of the modern oscilloscope in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Description:The manometric...
, a vibration microscope, among others; but perhaps the most important of his researches are those devoted to the phenomena produced by the interference
Beat (acoustics)
In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies....
of two tones, in which he disputed the views of Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
as to the existence of summation and difference tones.
He died in Paris.
External links
- Koenig's Manometric Flame Apparatus
- Koenig's Vibration Microscope
- Koenig's Fourier Analyser
- Biography and bibliography in the Virtual LaboratoryVirtual LaboratoryThe online project Virtual Laboratory. Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life, 1830-1930, located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, is dedicated to research in the history of the experimentalization of life...
of the Max Planck Institute for the History of ScienceMax Planck Institute for the History of ScienceThe Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin was established in March 1994. Its research is primarily devoted to a theoretically oriented history of science, principally of the natural sciences, but with methodological perspectives drawn from the cognitive sciences and from...