[CAUT] inharmonicity in piano wire

[Ed Sutton]

This "problem" is founded on the assumption that the partials in a vibrating string "ought to" be harmonic. Put another way, it assumes that the speed at which different waves move along the wire "ought to" be the same. The partials of a drum head, for example, are not harmonic? Why? 'Cause that's just the way drum heads vibrate.

Didn't Don Mannino have an ultra-high-speed video in which you could see the little partials moving out in front of the first partial, like porpoises riding the bow wave of a ship?

Perhaps an infinitely thin wire is perfectly harmonic. Or perhaps at the moment the tension breaks the wire, the wire is perfectly harmonic. The partials would be 1 x 0, 2 x 0, 3 x 0,.......!

Ed Sutton



On Feb 5, 2009, at 10:33 AM, reggaepass at aol.com wrote:


    List,

    I just received a query from a science faculty member at the art institute where I work.  He asks how can it be that partials of piano wire are sharp of what they "should" be?  I told him that my very pedestrian understanding is that this phenomenon is due to the high tension of piano wire up to pitch, but that is just me repeating what I have heard "somewhere."  Is this response even close to being correct?  Any further clarification as to why this is would be much appreciated all the way around.

    Thanks,

    Alan Eder
    CalArts


    Carnations mean admiration, Tulips mean love - what do Roses mean? Find out now! 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut_ptg.org/attachments/20090205/909fb735/attachment.html>