Reflecting wave energy in piano strings.

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Robert Scott wrote:

> ... Perhaps it
> is a little simpler than the water analogy though, side water
> waves are two-dimensional and the waves is a string are
> one-dimensional (if you don't consider precession).
>
> Bob Scott
> Ann Arbor, Michigan

  The wave motion of a struck piano string is exceedingly complex. Visibly it vibrates in two dimensions. What you see in a
long bass string is indicative of what is happening higher up in the scale. It's just that further up the scale it happens at
a much faster rate and it's a bit hard to see with the unaided eye. There is also an invisible longitudinal mode. To
adequately measure the vibrational patterns of the bridge and the plate termination points -- be they agraffes, V-bars, or
whatever -- requires the use of three-dimensional accelerometers at both locations. It's not really a one-dimensional
problem.

-- ddf