Talk:Basic physics of the violin

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[edit] Major Edit to Wikify

Hey. I did the rewrite, but I wasn't logged in. This is my first major rewrite, any comments or critiques would be appreciated (Andy Huston 03-21-2007)

Firstly, thanks for tackling this article. I think you've done a good improvement. There are some math equations in the article. I don't know how to format them, but there are math tags for dealing with it. Cheers. -- Whpq 16:14, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Great Revision: It is really great to see how something I wrote has evolved. Thank you so much. If you have any questions about the article let me know. It seems like you have covered all the right things. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 155.97.94.110 (talk) 16:26, 12 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] misleading maths

I believe there is an error in the "Tension" section.

I direct your attention first to the sentence: "Increasing tension causes the sound waves to travel faster through the string." I find this sentence misleading because it suggests that the speed of the sound wave being transmitted increases as tension in the string increases and that the increased speed of the sound wave results in an increased frequency. Of course the speed of sound does not increase, it is the rate of vibration of the string that increases.

Secondly, and more significantly, I direct your attention to the first sentence in the second paragraph: "Because the length of the violin, which determines the wavelength of the sound waves, is constant, an increase in tension will cause a proportional change in the frequency." The equation cited, f*λ = v, is not really relevant to the discussion as string tension is not involved in the equation. The meaning which is conveyed is that wavelength remains contant and the frequency increrases proportionally to the velocity, which in turn increases proportionally to string tension. In fact it is velocity which remains constant in the above equation. Wavelength and frequency are always inversely proportional, and the wavelength is not absolutely determined (ie. fixed) by the length of the string (or violin). That would also mean that the frequency is fixed by the length of the violin! Which is absurd. Absurd! :)

Biirnats (talk) 06:38, 22 April 2008 (UTC)