Acoustics

...something, without being able to carry it out. On March 8th, 1790, the first instrument of this kind was completed, and, because I had already mastered the method of playing it during its construction, I was able to play several light pieces on it just a few days later. Since every new thing must also have a new name, I gave this type of instrument the name: Euphon *), which signifies an instrument that has a pleasant sound; among all the names that occurred to me, or were suggested by others, this alone was appropriate. The first Euphon did not have the proper structural stability, so that much time and effort was required to keep it in working order, and during even the shortest journey everything would have been destroyed; for this reason, I subsequently took it apart again. Furthermore, for lack of better rods, I had used thermometer tubes for it, and marked the tones corresponding to the upper and lower keys referring to the layout of a piano keyboard by applying different colors of lacquer on the underside; however, because the lacquer frequently chipped off due to moisture and vibrations, this was not a good solution for the eyes. After some time, I succeeded in giving my newer Euphons the proper stability, so that they never suffered damage—neither during playing nor during transport (in a specially designed travel carriage under the seat), not even when driving quickly over poor stone roads. For these, I also made use of better rods made of dark and milk-white glass. Subsequently, I built a Euphon in yet another style, so that it was not shaped like a writing desk, as in the first design, but was more table-shaped; the soundboard was not vertical but horizontal, and the rest of the mechanical apparatus was located not behind, but beneath the glass rods. Regarding the characteristics of this type of instrument, I shall say nothing further here, as this has already been done in various journals, and many people have also seen and heard my Euphon. The essence of this invention consists, moreover, in the fact that I was the first to have and execute the idea of producing a sound by stroking glass rods (whether they are cylindrical or parallelepipedal rectangular or box-shaped is of no consequence) with wet fingers along their length (by means of some mechanical device, which can vary greatly); therefore, no construction of such an instrument by another person—after I had provided the initial idea—whether already done or occurring in the future, is to be regarded as a new invention.

*) From the Greek euphonon original: "εὔφωνον", in much the same way as one says polygon from polygonon original: "πολύγωνον".