Books › The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871 › scan 51
Scan 51
The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1than without, the post in this case only tending to check the vibration.
3But how is it that the post renders normal a movement which in appearance ought to be tangential? To explain this, let us revert to an experiment already cited. Taking a rod vibrating longitudinally, we touch it with another rod at right angles. Now, under certain circumstances, this second rod will vibrate longitudinally also, instead of normally as it should, in conformity with the general laws of the communication of vibrations already stated. We have shown, in fact, that in a rod which is the seat of longitudinal vibrations, there are contractions and dilations which give rise to semi-transversal vibrations, having the same duration as the longitudinal vibrations. Consequently, if we touch with another rod a vibrating segment of the rod which vibrates tangentially, the contractions and dilations will be communicated to the perpendicular rod, which will also become the seat of longitudinal vibrations. The same phenomenon is produced in the violin. The transversal oscillations of the tables produce in the post a longitudinal movement, which, reacting upon the movements of the tables, determines in them a normal movement. It is an exception, as we have seen, to the general laws of the communication of vibrations. The post acts as a kind of bow with regard to the tables. If the original exciting cause was only instantaneous, as in the guitar, the effect of the post would be to stifle the sound; but in the violin the originating cause is continuous, and it is the sum of very small movements which produces in the end
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.