Maybe not totally relevant, but in my (much) younger days when
carrying around a sliderule as a student, it was claimed that the
best sliderules were made of bamboo coz they didn't expand like metal
ones and were self-lubricating. Indeed, to smoothly ease into small
gradations a prior pumping of the middle movable band was useful.
John Clifford
On 12 May 2011, at 10:12, Richard York wrote:
Hello all.
I've just enjoyed re-reading Francis Woods' excellent article, "In
Praise of Old Pipes", in the 2010 Vol 31 NPS Journal.
There he refers to the "myth [which] holds that instruments
inevitably
deteriorate if they are not used. [...] what really wears them
out is
using them ".
I quite see that the mechanical use of moving keys, sliding tunable
parts, etc. causes wear, but would welcome comments on a
probably very
unscientific thought on the actual wood in instruments.
(By the by, I realise mouth-blown woodwind deteriorates through the
warming, wetting and drying and cooling effect, but feel that's
not so
relevant here.)
I watched a demonstration recently of how the form of vibrations
through an instrument can clearly be seen, by using sand on the
soundboard of a rebec held horizontally, which neatly slid into
patterns.
Since all matter is made of particles, is it possible that the
regular
patterns of vibration may somehow arrange these particles in a way
relating to these regular movements?
Which in turn would affect its acoustic character, I assume.
Best wishes,
Richard.
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