Open Collections

Lemer, Carl; Yang, Michael

The sound of stringed instruments is dependent on many factors, including transverse and longitudinal waves created by the strings. Unlike transverse waves, longitudinal waves displace the medium through which the waves travel parallel to the direction of the wave, rather than perpendicular to the direction of travel, as transverse waves do. When given the string length and frequency of longitudinal waves, it is possible to measure the speed of sound through the string material, since the longitudinal waves are travelling along the length of the string. The speed of sound in piano strings was measured using this method. Our objective was to determine whether there was dependence on other factors such as tension or string width and to compare it with proposed models. It was found that the speed of sound within the strings was dependent on the tension of the string, however the exact relationship has not been confirmed.

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University of British Columbia. Science One Research Projects; University of British Columbia. SCIE 001

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0434185

Science, Faculty of

Undergraduate

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