Physics puzzler was Flat Facts

[Alan]

Andre's post still leaves the question unanwered, for me. For the system to
wind down like that, the tension still has to go somewhere, i.e., if the
string relaxes, something else is tensing up, so to speak.

Reminded me of this question that my old high school physics teacher posed:
"I you wind a watch spring extremely tightly into itself, then put it in a
stainless steel case that fits snug enough so the spring cannot unwind, then
add a drop of water and acid, then seal the whole system shut so no moisture
can enter or leave, the spring will eventually dissolve/rust away. Where did
the energy of coiled spring go?"

This may even relate to our piano question. I'll post the answer later.
This, BTW, was an experiment actually performed at some university or other.

Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf
Of antares
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 3:45 AM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: Aha! was flat facts


As I tried to say before :

Leave a piano untouched, and pitch will go down over time.
It is because it is a natural way for materials under tension or 
stress, to release that tension over time.
Of course it is a combination of factors, like the deterioration of 
wood and metal and the sound board losing its crown etc, but in the 
end, if untouched, pitch will be down to zero.

friendly greetings
from
André Oorebeek

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