Reflexion des Schalls aus unterschiedlicher Entfernung (Echo)

The engraving shows a set of three vertical planes labeled E, F, and G, projecting from a larger wall structure marked A, B, and C. Straight lines originate from a single point, D, and extend toward these surfaces to demonstrate the path of sound waves hitting obstacles. The entire apparatus is depicted as resting on a rugged, rocky outcrop, common in Kircher's landscape illustrations.

Athanasius Kircher was a 17th-century Jesuit polymath who integrated natural philosophy with esoteric traditions; his study of acoustics, or 'phonurgia,' sought to uncover the hidden mathematical harmonies of the created world. This diagram reflects the Baroque obsession with the hidden 'sympathy' of nature, treating sound as a measurable physical event that mirrors deeper cosmic laws.