Sirens – History and Types
This article is meant to look at sirens. We will explore what sirens are, their history, uses as well as the different types that we see today.
sirens are basically loud noisemakers, primarily used for warning people of an emergency situation or impending danger. They are used for a variety of purposes but we will first look at a brief history of sirens. John Robison, a Scottish philosopher, invented the first siren and the siren was curiously used as a musical instrument, as some sirens powered some of the pipes in an organ. This siren consisted of a stopcock in a pneumatic tube that regularly opened and closed. The sound effect was much similar to the ones we hear today from modern sirens.
sirens are used for numerous reasons, mostly for the purposes of warning people of danger. sirens are usually loud and placed on high buildings, chimneys or masts to ensure that the sound travels far distances. Most modern sirens are used to warn against tornados and air raids. sirens are also used on emergency vehicles to signal their approach. The most common emergency vehicles that use sirens are ambulances, police cars and fire engines.
sirens consist of two main types; pneumatic and electronic. The pneumatic siren has rotating disk that has holes. The material that is between the holes interrupts airflow in to the siren. The rotating disk alternately allows and prevents the flow of air. This results in the sound that we hear as a siren. Pneumatic sirens use a large amount of energy, which is difficult to sustain especially for the larger sirens that are used to transport sound for long distances. There is however air tanks that pump pressure into the siren that is refilled by using a low powered compressor. Pneumatic sirens are also called mechanical or coaster sirens as a way of differentiating them from other sirens. These sirens are loud and transport sound to large areas.
Electronic sirens use incorporated circuits such as oscillators, amplifiers and modulators. These components are made to produce a particular siren sound. Some of these sounds produced by electric sirens are wail, scan, air horn, pierce as well as a variety of other siren sounds. The electronic sirens are the newest form of sirens and produce a larger variety of siren sound in comparison to pneumatic sirens. They can be seen on especially new model police cars and fire engines, although it is not unusual to see both pneumatic sirens and electronic sirens being used at the same time. Electronic sirens also use less energy and the sound clarity is much better than the pneumatic sirens. It is very conceivable that they will replace pneumatic sirens.
There are also other types of sirens such as steam whistles that use steam to work them. They are used on steam engines, saw mills, and factories. They were very common before fire sirens were made available for use. Steam whistles can be used virtually anywhere where steam is available. They produce a high-pitched whistle, although the sound does not travel very far. There were also fire horns that used compressed air. They were used to warn against fires as well as other emergencies, although the scope of their sound is much less.
sirens have come a long way and electric sirens epitomize human advancement in siren productions. One siren can now produce a variety of sounds. Each sound is unique to the emergency it signifies and it is important to make ourselves familiar with the different sounds and what emergency they signify.
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