String length

[Bill Ballard]

At 8:03 AM +0200 5/23/03, Stéphane Collin wrote:
>I thought of a cheaper solution.
>When I get my super Mitutoyo multi anvil micrometer, and when I will 
>be able to measure diameters up to hundredth of a millimeter, I will 
>pull the strings up until they break, recording accurately which 
>frequency the string reached just before breaking.  Putting the 
>announced breaking tension of steel wire into the equation, I will 
>be able to measure the string length for the cost of approximately 
>30 cm to 4 m of that wire.
>But then again, my original wire is shot.

"...had to amputate the patient's head to relive his migraines" <g> 
How 'bout this for non-invasive, non-destructive. Place a keylead of 
known mass in the middle of the speaking length. Record the string's 
deflection under load. Using trigonometry, calculate the speaking 
length for which a wire at a known pitch would deflect under a known 
load by the observe amount.

Anybody else have more clever and thoroughly original ideas about how 
to avoid using a ruler? But Stephane, I can think of a piano or two 
whose string lengths need to be measured as you propose. <g>

Mr. Bill

"Lady, this piano is what it is, I am what I am, and you are what you are"
     ...........From a recurring nightmare.
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