Klarinet Archive - Posting 000196.txt from 1996/10

From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.NET>
Subj: Some brief wave physics 101
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 18:23:05 -0400

Just to put this CO2 thing to rest...

The frequency of a wave in any medium is given by:

f = V / L

where V is the velocity of the wave in the medium and L is the wavelength
of the wave.

Also, its the air column in the clarinet, not the reed, that is making 99%
of the sound. Try vibrating a reed all by itself in the air and see how
much sound it makes.

This is the analagous to the fact that it is the back plate that generates
most of the sound on a violin. The strings make very little sound by
themselves.

Same goes for a piano, etc...

Hope this is helpful.

-----------------------------
Jonathan Cohler
cohler@-----.net