longitudinal waves, MiniMens

David Skolnik davidskolnik@optonline.net
Thu, 12 Feb 2004 01:34:01 -0500


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Beware Gordon!

Are you  prepared to re-enter the mine field? You are about to start=20
talking about how the energy from the string actually becomes transformed=20
into the transversal movement of the soundboard, required to create the=20
sound waves we hear, forcing us to ask such questions like, for instance,=20
do the strings make the bridge move up and down, or, for that matter, from=
=20
front to back?  If you choose to undertake such an adventure, you would be=
=20
probably be well advised to avoid starting out with a virtual sign taped to=
=20
your rear saying "KICK ME!"  By that I am referring to your portrayal of=20
the string pulling on the bridge cap.  While I, personally have come to=20
believe that the essence of your idea is correct, that is, all modes of=20
string displacement being transformed into a kind of pulse energy at the=20
termination, the string would, in no way, actually pull on the bridge cap,=
=20
with the attending implication that the bridge is pulled forward and=20
backwards, a motion you might more reasonably infer from a theoretical=20
configuration which had the entire string terminate on the bridge,  (Of=20
course, in such an arrangement you would be dispensing with downbearing=20
...but...).  If anything, it would be the pins that would be pulled, but,=20
in that case, it would seem that the back scale would counteract any=20
tendency to pull forward.

I'm not sure what aspect of Bernhard Stopper's remarks you are reacting=20
to.  If anything, he seems to be saying, as are seem to be, that the bridge=
=20
moves back and forth.  I am doubting that such a description accurately=20
reflects the mechanics involved, but that's only my gut speaking.  I have=20
to go back and read 5 Lectures again, along with the last 10 years of=20
Journals and Pianotech.

David Skolnik



At 07:49 PM 2/11/2004 -0800, you wrote:
>Excuse me, please, but is not the piano tone actually
>caused by the tugging of the string on the bridge cap,
>effectively making it a "bell crank"? Afer all, as a
>string vibrates, the end pulls in and out, not up and
>down. If it waved up and down, lifting and dropping
>the bridge with it, the tone we hear would be the
>frequency of the entire string--- from agraffe to
>hitch pin. But it isn't.
>      Thump
>--- Bernhard Stopper <b98tu@t-online.de> wrote:
> > Dear Marc & Isaac,
> >
> > Longitudinal waves of strings produce transversal
> > vibrations on the
> > soundboard caused by the bridge=B4s back and forth
> > movement. If this would not
> > be the case, one couldn=B4t measure or hear them. I
> > think you don=B4t negociate
> > that they exist, in the sound samples it is the
> > whistle you can hear. As
> > Isaac wrote, (he supposed it was the additional line
> > below the 4.
> > transversal but heard it an octave higher. It is
> > overlaid with the 13.
> > transveral, so that is indeed what you heard, (good
> > ears Isaac, i am really
> > impressed... )
> >
> > Measuring and separation of transverse and
> > longitudinal harmonics were done
> > with a software spectrum analyzer (spectraplus, you
> > can download a test
> > version at http://www.telebyte.com/pioneer/ ). A
> > spectrum analyzer extracts
> > every frequency that is in a sound wave over time,
> > no matter if it is caused
> > by a longitudinal or a transversal wave.
> >
> > To interpert the spectra, just "count" the regular
> > lines.. there are 39
> > transversal waves, and the first longitudinal wave
> > (at about 712 Hz) is
> > overlaid with the 13. transversal (a little thicker
> > line) The various
> > additional lines (mainly around the mid of the
> > spectrum) are caused by the
> > blank ends,  the wave propagation is faster on that
> > part of the string what
> > results in splitting up several harmonics.
> >
> > to ask for a MiniMens Audio demo (the string
> > simulator) and more information
> > on the MiniMens program look here:
> >
> > http://www.piano-stopper.de/homepe.htm
> >
> > best regards,
> >
> > Bernhard Stopper
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@hotmail.com>
> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 6:09 AM
> > Subject: longitudinal waves
> >
> >
> > > So there's a program that'll simulate the behavior
> > of a stretched string,
> > > non-linearities and all?  I suppose I shouldn't be
> > surprised, but I'm
> > > certainly impressed.  And the recording and
> > simulation sounded alike
> > (though
> > > the attack, etc. was different.)
> > >
> > > I'm sitting here wondering how you could measure
> > longitudinal waves on a
> > > string separately from the transverse waves.  It's
> > easy enough to detect
> > > motion in a plane perpendicular to the string, but
> > how would you isolate
> > > longitudinal waves?
> > >
> > > I wish those two spectra had some labels on them.
> > I couldn't figure them
> > > out.
> > >
> > >
> > > M Kinsler
> > > 512 E Mulberry St. Lancaster, Ohio USA 43130
> > 740-687-6368
> > > http://home.earthlink.net/~mkinsler1
> > >
> > >

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