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WOLFRAM NOTEBOOK
Hammer Time
Hammer Time
Pressing a key on a piano keyboard causes a felt-covered hammer to rise up and strike a string. In the top panel, drag the hammer back and forth along the piano string and notice the direct connection between the hammer's position—expressed as a fractional part of the string's length—and the attenuation of a specific overtone in the resulting vibrating string. Among the first eight harmonics, the seventh harmonic is the most dissonant, and so modern pianos place their hammers at one-seventh the length of the string to diminish this harmonic's contribution to the sound of the piano.