Books › Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883 › scan 266
Scan 266
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 252. See the scan on archive.org.
1another, it excites in it always an oscillating movement, whose period is equal to that which itself observes. Thus it is that if we strike a tuning-fork without placing it on a solid body, and we afterwards place it on any resonant table, in the first case the sound is very feeble, while in the second it is much more strong and full. In this example the tuning-fork represents the strings, and the resonant table the sounding-box of the violin.
3To exemplify this principle in a more complete manner, we may take a thin plate of copper or glass, round, and equal in thickness, or even a plate of lead flattened with care, because this metal, having little rigidity, readily obeys all movements communicated to it, and it has the additional advantage of being easily flattened more equally. This plate is placed on a narrow slip of wood with a little bit between to keep them from touching. A bit of cork is better for this purpose, because it yields to the movements of the plate, and is no obstacle to the regularity of the figures. To one end of the slip of wood is fastened a violin string, which is stretched by means of a peg at the other end. A violin bridge is placed on the plate, which is covered with a coating of fine sand. The string is stretched over the middle of the bridge, and a sound drawn from it by means of a bow. In an instant the sand unites at certain points and separates at others, forming a figure whose regularity is determined by the equal thickness of the plate, and the placing of the feet of the bridge at equal distances from the centre of the plate on one of its diameters. If the string is screwed up so that the sound be one or more tones higher,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.