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55256 ReacStick: From Conception to Commercialization
- Alec Bernard, Ian Richarson, James Richardson
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- Journal:
- Journal of Clinical and Translational Science / Volume 5 / Issue s1 / March 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 30 March 2021, p. 41
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ABSTRACT IMPACT: ReacStick concussion testing and monitoring can serve as a 'vital sign for the brain', allowing for an immediate, objective assessment on the field or at the bedside. This project examines the entrepreneuship process from invention to commercialization. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: ReacStick is the first objective, portable, measure of concussion likelihood and severity and uses simple and complex reaction time testing. We detail the entrepreneurship process from product invention through its current mid-stage (patented, 20+ publications, etc.) to future commercialization for diverse applications. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: ReacStick was invented in 2010 and underwent extensive testing and validation of the underlying innovations. The regulatory landscape of the product was examined, and 510(k) was found to be the best pathway. Competitive analysis was done examining alternative products and comparing against the current gold standards. A customer discovery process was undertaken, and stakeholders were interviewed for feedback and iteration. Testing and validation were completed with athletes, older adults, and people taking medications. An overview of the necessary commercialization concepts is: market opportunity/monetization, intellectual property considerations, regulatory processes, commercialization plan. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: ReacStick accurately predicts concussion and time to recovery and was patented through UM Tech Transfer in 2010, with 10 years currently remaining on the patent. Through customer discovery processes, athletics was determined to be the most viable first market to enter. Next steps include seeking additional patent protection, capital investors, delivery of minimum viable product followed by iteration and improvement for military, emergency medicine and acute care use. The current remaining timeline involves 12-18 months to commercialization and includes regulatory approval, additional patent protection, collaboration with regulatory consultants, capital fundraising and product production. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: The research team has gone through a lengthy process toward commercialization of ReacStick. Proof of concept and extensive validation of the underlying technology have been completed and the regulatory process has been mapped. Our experience can serve as a model of many of the steps and challenges that lie on the path from lab to sale to end users.
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and Wild Grape (Vitis spp.) Control in Fraser Fir
- Robert J. Richardson, Michael W. Marshall, Robert E. Uhlig, Bernard H. Zandstra
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- Journal:
- Weed Technology / Volume 23 / Issue 1 / March 2009
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 January 2017, pp. 184-187
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Virginia creeper and wild grape are troublesome perennial vines that often infest Christmas tree plantations. Field studies were conducted to evaluate Fraser fir injury and Virginia creeper and wild grape control with directed applications of triclopyr (1,680 g ai/ha) alone and in combination with 2,4-D (1,120 g ai/ha), clopyralid (280 g ai/ha), and halosulfuron (36 g ai/ha). Additional treatments included 2,4-D, clopyralid, glyphosate (1,120 g ai/ha), halosulfuron, hexazinone (560 g ai/ha), mesotrione (105 g ai/ha), and sulfometuron (71 g ai/ha) applied alone; and a mixture of hexazinone plus mesotrione. In the triclopyr-containing treatments, Fraser fir injury ranged from 6 to 13% at 1 mo after treatment (MAT) and was 4 to 8% at 11 MAT. Leader growth was not impacted by the herbicide treatments. At 11 MAT, all triclopyr-containing treatments controlled Virginia creeper 93 to 98% and wild grape 98 to 100%, which was greater than the control observed with glyphosate at 63 and 59%, respectively. Virginia creeper and wild grape control with 2,4-D was 88 to 90%. Clopyralid, halosulfuron, hexazinone, hexazinone plus mesotrione, mesotrione, and sulfometuron provided less than 66% control of both perennial vines. Directed applications of triclopyr-containing treatments or 2,4-D were effective management tools for selective removal of wild grape and Virginia creeper from Fraser fir Christmas tree plantations. Additional research is needed on the potential sensitivity of other commonly grown Christmas tree species to triclopyr-containing treatments.
Evaluation of Flumioxazin and Other Herbicides for Weed Control in Gladiolus
- Robert J. Richardson, Bernard H. Zandstra
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- Journal:
- Weed Technology / Volume 20 / Issue 2 / June 2006
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 January 2017, pp. 394-398
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Two studies were conducted near Bronson, MI, to determine gladiolus tolerance and weed control with flumioxazin and other herbicide treatments. The first study was conducted in 2002, 2003, and 2004 to evaluate weed control and gladiolus injury with flumioxazin and 14 other preemergence treatments. Crop injury over the 3-yr period was less than 6% and was considered commercially acceptable with flumioxazin, linuron, oryzalin, pendimethalin, prometryn, S-metolachlor, and sulfentrazone. Gladiolus stand count, height, and flower count were similar to those of the nontreated control with these treatments. Clomazone, halosulfuron, imazamox, imazapic, mesotrione, oxyfluorfen, rimsulfuron, and trifloxysulfuron resulted in unacceptable crop injury. Of the acceptable treatments, only flumioxazin controlled common ragweed, yellow nutsedge, and foxtail species at least 68%. The second study was conducted in 2003 and 2004. Flumioxazin was evaluated at four rates, in mixtures with S-metolachlor and oryzalin, and in comparison with isoxaben plus oryzalin. Gladiolus injury did not exceed 6%. Common ragweed, annual grass, and yellow nutsedge control were at least 63% with all flumioxazin treatments.
Contributors
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- By Mitchell Aboulafia, Frederick Adams, Marilyn McCord Adams, Robert M. Adams, Laird Addis, James W. Allard, David Allison, William P. Alston, Karl Ameriks, C. Anthony Anderson, David Leech Anderson, Lanier Anderson, Roger Ariew, David Armstrong, Denis G. Arnold, E. J. Ashworth, Margaret Atherton, Robin Attfield, Bruce Aune, Edward Wilson Averill, Jody Azzouni, Kent Bach, Andrew Bailey, Lynne Rudder Baker, Thomas R. Baldwin, Jon Barwise, George Bealer, William Bechtel, Lawrence C. Becker, Mark A. Bedau, Ernst Behler, José A. Benardete, Ermanno Bencivenga, Jan Berg, Michael Bergmann, Robert L. Bernasconi, Sven Bernecker, Bernard Berofsky, Rod Bertolet, Charles J. Beyer, Christian Beyer, Joseph Bien, Joseph Bien, Peg Birmingham, Ivan Boh, James Bohman, Daniel Bonevac, Laurence BonJour, William J. Bouwsma, Raymond D. Bradley, Myles Brand, Richard B. Brandt, Michael E. Bratman, Stephen E. Braude, Daniel Breazeale, Angela Breitenbach, Jason Bridges, David O. Brink, Gordon G. Brittan, Justin Broackes, Dan W. Brock, Aaron Bronfman, Jeffrey E. Brower, Bartosz Brozek, Anthony Brueckner, Jeffrey Bub, Lara Buchak, Otavio Bueno, Ann E. Bumpus, Robert W. Burch, John Burgess, Arthur W. Burks, Panayot Butchvarov, Robert E. Butts, Marina Bykova, Patrick Byrne, David Carr, Noël Carroll, Edward S. Casey, Victor Caston, Victor Caston, Albert Casullo, Robert L. Causey, Alan K. L. Chan, Ruth Chang, Deen K. Chatterjee, Andrew Chignell, Roderick M. Chisholm, Kelly J. Clark, E. J. Coffman, Robin Collins, Brian P. Copenhaver, John Corcoran, John Cottingham, Roger Crisp, Frederick J. Crosson, Antonio S. Cua, Phillip D. Cummins, Martin Curd, Adam Cureton, Andrew Cutrofello, Stephen Darwall, Paul Sheldon Davies, Wayne A. Davis, Timothy Joseph Day, Claudio de Almeida, Mario De Caro, Mario De Caro, John Deigh, C. F. Delaney, Daniel C. Dennett, Michael R. DePaul, Michael Detlefsen, Daniel Trent Devereux, Philip E. Devine, John M. Dillon, Martin C. Dillon, Robert DiSalle, Mary Domski, Alan Donagan, Paul Draper, Fred Dretske, Mircea Dumitru, Wilhelm Dupré, Gerald Dworkin, John Earman, Ellery Eells, Catherine Z. Elgin, Berent Enç, Ronald P. Endicott, Edward Erwin, John Etchemendy, C. Stephen Evans, Susan L. Feagin, Solomon Feferman, Richard Feldman, Arthur Fine, Maurice A. Finocchiaro, William FitzPatrick, Richard E. Flathman, Gvozden Flego, Richard Foley, Graeme Forbes, Rainer Forst, Malcolm R. Forster, Daniel Fouke, Patrick Francken, Samuel Freeman, Elizabeth Fricker, Miranda Fricker, Michael Friedman, Michael Fuerstein, Richard A. Fumerton, Alan Gabbey, Pieranna Garavaso, Daniel Garber, Jorge L. A. Garcia, Robert K. Garcia, Don Garrett, Philip Gasper, Gerald Gaus, Berys Gaut, Bernard Gert, Roger F. Gibson, Cody Gilmore, Carl Ginet, Alan H. Goldman, Alvin I. Goldman, Alfonso Gömez-Lobo, Lenn E. Goodman, Robert M. Gordon, Stefan Gosepath, Jorge J. E. Gracia, Daniel W. Graham, George A. Graham, Peter J. Graham, Richard E. Grandy, I. Grattan-Guinness, John Greco, Philip T. Grier, Nicholas Griffin, Nicholas Griffin, David A. Griffiths, Paul J. Griffiths, Stephen R. Grimm, Charles L. Griswold, Charles B. Guignon, Pete A. Y. Gunter, Dimitri Gutas, Gary Gutting, Paul Guyer, Kwame Gyekye, Oscar A. Haac, Raul Hakli, Raul Hakli, Michael Hallett, Edward C. Halper, Jean Hampton, R. James Hankinson, K. R. Hanley, Russell Hardin, Robert M. Harnish, William Harper, David Harrah, Kevin Hart, Ali Hasan, William Hasker, John Haugeland, Roger Hausheer, William Heald, Peter Heath, Richard Heck, John F. Heil, Vincent F. Hendricks, Stephen Hetherington, Francis Heylighen, Kathleen Marie Higgins, Risto Hilpinen, Harold T. Hodes, Joshua Hoffman, Alan Holland, Robert L. Holmes, Richard Holton, Brad W. Hooker, Terence E. Horgan, Tamara Horowitz, Paul Horwich, Vittorio Hösle, Paul Hoβfeld, Daniel Howard-Snyder, Frances Howard-Snyder, Anne Hudson, Deal W. Hudson, Carl A. Huffman, David L. Hull, Patricia Huntington, Thomas Hurka, Paul Hurley, Rosalind Hursthouse, Guillermo Hurtado, Ronald E. Hustwit, Sarah Hutton, Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa, Harry A. Ide, David Ingram, Philip J. Ivanhoe, Alfred L. Ivry, Frank Jackson, Dale Jacquette, Joseph Jedwab, Richard Jeffrey, David Alan Johnson, Edward Johnson, Mark D. Jordan, Richard Joyce, Hwa Yol Jung, Robert Hillary Kane, Tomis Kapitan, Jacquelyn Ann K. Kegley, James A. Keller, Ralph Kennedy, Sergei Khoruzhii, Jaegwon Kim, Yersu Kim, Nathan L. King, Patricia Kitcher, Peter D. Klein, E. D. Klemke, Virginia Klenk, George L. Kline, Christian Klotz, Simo Knuuttila, Joseph J. Kockelmans, Konstantin Kolenda, Sebastian Tomasz Kołodziejczyk, Isaac Kramnick, Richard Kraut, Fred Kroon, Manfred Kuehn, Steven T. Kuhn, Henry E. Kyburg, John Lachs, Jennifer Lackey, Stephen E. Lahey, Andrea Lavazza, Thomas H. Leahey, Joo Heung Lee, Keith Lehrer, Dorothy Leland, Noah M. Lemos, Ernest LePore, Sarah-Jane Leslie, Isaac Levi, Andrew Levine, Alan E. Lewis, Daniel E. Little, Shu-hsien Liu, Shu-hsien Liu, Alan K. L. Chan, Brian Loar, Lawrence B. Lombard, John Longeway, Dominic McIver Lopes, Michael J. Loux, E. J. Lowe, Steven Luper, Eugene C. Luschei, William G. Lycan, David Lyons, David Macarthur, Danielle Macbeth, Scott MacDonald, Jacob L. Mackey, Louis H. Mackey, Penelope Mackie, Edward H. Madden, Penelope Maddy, G. B. Madison, Bernd Magnus, Pekka Mäkelä, Rudolf A. Makkreel, David Manley, William E. Mann (W.E.M.), Vladimir Marchenkov, Peter Markie, Jean-Pierre Marquis, Ausonio Marras, Mike W. Martin, A. P. Martinich, William L. McBride, David McCabe, Storrs McCall, Hugh J. McCann, Robert N. McCauley, John J. McDermott, Sarah McGrath, Ralph McInerny, Daniel J. McKaughan, Thomas McKay, Michael McKinsey, Brian P. McLaughlin, Ernan McMullin, Anthonie Meijers, Jack W. Meiland, William Jason Melanson, Alfred R. Mele, Joseph R. Mendola, Christopher Menzel, Michael J. Meyer, Christian B. Miller, David W. Miller, Peter Millican, Robert N. Minor, Phillip Mitsis, James A. Montmarquet, Michael S. Moore, Tim Moore, Benjamin Morison, Donald R. Morrison, Stephen J. Morse, Paul K. Moser, Alexander P. D. Mourelatos, Ian Mueller, James Bernard Murphy, Mark C. Murphy, Steven Nadler, Jan Narveson, Alan Nelson, Jerome Neu, Samuel Newlands, Kai Nielsen, Ilkka Niiniluoto, Carlos G. Noreña, Calvin G. Normore, David Fate Norton, Nikolaj Nottelmann, Donald Nute, David S. Oderberg, Steve Odin, Michael O’Rourke, Willard G. Oxtoby, Heinz Paetzold, George S. Pappas, Anthony J. Parel, Lydia Patton, R. P. Peerenboom, Francis Jeffry Pelletier, Adriaan T. Peperzak, Derk Pereboom, Jaroslav Peregrin, Glen Pettigrove, Philip Pettit, Edmund L. Pincoffs, Andrew Pinsent, Robert B. Pippin, Alvin Plantinga, Louis P. Pojman, Richard H. Popkin, John F. Post, Carl J. Posy, William J. Prior, Richard Purtill, Michael Quante, Philip L. Quinn, Philip L. Quinn, Elizabeth S. Radcliffe, Diana Raffman, Gerard Raulet, Stephen L. Read, Andrews Reath, Andrew Reisner, Nicholas Rescher, Henry S. Richardson, Robert C. Richardson, Thomas Ricketts, Wayne D. Riggs, Mark Roberts, Robert C. Roberts, Luke Robinson, Alexander Rosenberg, Gary Rosenkranz, Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, Adina L. Roskies, William L. Rowe, T. M. Rudavsky, Michael Ruse, Bruce Russell, Lilly-Marlene Russow, Dan Ryder, R. M. Sainsbury, Joseph Salerno, Nathan Salmon, Wesley C. Salmon, Constantine Sandis, David H. Sanford, Marco Santambrogio, David Sapire, Ruth A. Saunders, Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Charles Sayward, James P. Scanlan, Richard Schacht, Tamar Schapiro, Frederick F. Schmitt, Jerome B. Schneewind, Calvin O. Schrag, Alan D. Schrift, George F. Schumm, Jean-Loup Seban, David N. Sedley, Kenneth Seeskin, Krister Segerberg, Charlene Haddock Seigfried, Dennis M. Senchuk, James F. Sennett, William Lad Sessions, Stewart Shapiro, Tommie Shelby, Donald W. Sherburne, Christopher Shields, Roger A. Shiner, Sydney Shoemaker, Robert K. Shope, Kwong-loi Shun, Wilfried Sieg, A. John Simmons, Robert L. Simon, Marcus G. Singer, Georgette Sinkler, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Matti T. Sintonen, Lawrence Sklar, Brian Skyrms, Robert C. Sleigh, Michael Anthony Slote, Hans Sluga, Barry Smith, Michael Smith, Robin Smith, Robert Sokolowski, Robert C. Solomon, Marta Soniewicka, Philip Soper, Ernest Sosa, Nicholas Southwood, Paul Vincent Spade, T. L. S. Sprigge, Eric O. Springsted, George J. Stack, Rebecca Stangl, Jason Stanley, Florian Steinberger, Sören Stenlund, Christopher Stephens, James P. Sterba, Josef Stern, Matthias Steup, M. A. Stewart, Leopold Stubenberg, Edith Dudley Sulla, Frederick Suppe, Jere Paul Surber, David George Sussman, Sigrún Svavarsdóttir, Zeno G. Swijtink, Richard Swinburne, Charles C. Taliaferro, Robert B. Talisse, John Tasioulas, Paul Teller, Larry S. Temkin, Mark Textor, H. S. Thayer, Peter Thielke, Alan Thomas, Amie L. Thomasson, Katherine Thomson-Jones, Joshua C. Thurow, Vzalerie Tiberius, Terrence N. Tice, Paul Tidman, Mark C. Timmons, William Tolhurst, James E. Tomberlin, Rosemarie Tong, Lawrence Torcello, Kelly Trogdon, J. D. Trout, Robert E. Tully, Raimo Tuomela, John Turri, Martin M. Tweedale, Thomas Uebel, Jennifer Uleman, James Van Cleve, Harry van der Linden, Peter van Inwagen, Bryan W. Van Norden, René van Woudenberg, Donald Phillip Verene, Samantha Vice, Thomas Vinci, Donald Wayne Viney, Barbara Von Eckardt, Peter B. M. Vranas, Steven J. Wagner, William J. Wainwright, Paul E. Walker, Robert E. Wall, Craig Walton, Douglas Walton, Eric Watkins, Richard A. Watson, Michael V. Wedin, Rudolph H. Weingartner, Paul Weirich, Paul J. Weithman, Carl Wellman, Howard Wettstein, Samuel C. Wheeler, Stephen A. White, Jennifer Whiting, Edward R. Wierenga, Michael Williams, Fred Wilson, W. Kent Wilson, Kenneth P. Winkler, John F. Wippel, Jan Woleński, Allan B. Wolter, Nicholas P. Wolterstorff, Rega Wood, W. Jay Wood, Paul Woodruff, Alison Wylie, Gideon Yaffe, Takashi Yagisawa, Yutaka Yamamoto, Keith E. Yandell, Xiaomei Yang, Dean Zimmerman, Günter Zoller, Catherine Zuckert, Michael Zuckert, Jack A. Zupko (J.A.Z.)
- Edited by Robert Audi, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
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- The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
- Published online:
- 05 August 2015
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- 27 April 2015, pp ix-xxx
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- By Jean-Jacques Aubert, R. H. Helmholz, Caroline Humfress, David Ibbetson, David Johnston, Wolfgang Kaiser, Andrew Lewis, Andrew Lintott, Laurent Mayali, Ernest Metzger, Elizabeth A. Meyer, Paul du Plessis, John Richardson, Magnus Ryan, A. J. B. Sirks, Bernard H. Stolte, Laurens Winkel, Joseph Georg Wolf, Reinhard Zimmermann
- Edited by David Johnston
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- The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law
- Published online:
- 05 February 2015
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- 16 February 2015, pp vii-viii
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- By Pat Alger, Eric Anderson, Henry Atmore, Steven Gould Axelrod, Thomas Bailey, Jonathan N. Barron, James Barszcz, David Chandler, John Xiros Cooper, David Evans, Robert Faggen, Lesley Lee Francis, Dana Gioia, Robert Bernard Hass, Tyler Hoffman, Tim Kendall, Karen L. Kilcup, Grzegorz Kosc, Jonathan Levin, Marit MacArthur, Alec Marsh, Paul Morrison, Paul Muldoon, Jay Parini, William Pritchard, Mark Richardson, Margery Sabin, Mark Scott, Lisa Seale, Donald G. Sheehy, Yasuko Shiojiri, Sean Street, Joseph M. Thomas, David Tutein
- Edited by Mark Richardson, Doshisha University, Kyoto
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- Robert Frost in Context
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- 05 April 2014
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- 14 April 2014, pp ix-xvi
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- By Nozomi Akanuma, Gonzalo Alarcón, R. Arunachalam, Sarah H. Bernard, Frank M. C. Besag, Istvan Bodi, Stephen Brown, Franz Brunnhuber, Antonella Cerquiglini, J. Helen Cross, R. Shane Delamont, Archana Desurkar, Lee Drummond, Rona Eade, Robert D. C. Elwes, Bidi Evans, Peter Fenwick, Colin D. Ferrie, Paul L. Furlong, Laura H. Goldstein, Sally Gomersall, Sushma Goyal, Jane Hanna, Yvonne Hart, Dominic C. Heaney, Graham E. Holder, Mrinalini Honavar, Elaine Hughes, Jozef M. Jarosz, John G. R. Jefferys, Jane Juler, Mathias Koepp, Michalis Koutroumanidis, Maureen Lahiff, Louis Lemieux, David McCormick, Brian Meldrum, John D. C. Mellers, Nicholas Moran, John Moriarty, Robin G. Morris, Nandini Mullatti, Lina Nashef, Jennifer Nightingale, T. J. von Oertzen, Corina O'Neill, Philip N. Patsalos, Stella Pearson, Charles E. Polkey, Ronit Pressler, Edward H. Reynolds, Mark P. Richardson, Leone Ridsdale, Robert Robinson, Greg Rogers, Euan M. Ross, Richard P. Selway, Stefano Seri, Simeran Sharma, Graeme J. Sills, Andrew Simmons, Shiri Spector, Mark Stevenson, Jade N. Thai, Brian Toone, Antonio Valentín, Nuria T. Villagra, Matthew Walker, William Whitehouse
- Edited by Gonzalo Alarcón, King's College London, Antonio Valentín, King's College London
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- Introduction to Epilepsy
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- 05 July 2012
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- 26 April 2012, pp xii-xv
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3 - Cello acoustics
- Edited by Robin Stowell, University of Wales College of Cardiff
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Cello
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- 28 September 2011
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- 28 June 1999, pp 37-51
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Summary
There is a huge diversity of bowed stringed instruments throughout the world. Their acoustical principles, however, are common. A bow is drawn across a taut string. Friction between the bow and the string excites the string into vibration. The string has particular vibrational properties which make it an ‘ideal’ musical signal source, but unfortunately its small size renders it practically inaudible. The string is therefore connected to some form of resonator, which is traditionally a wooden box (as in the case of the cello), a stretched animal skin or a gourd. The function of the resonator box is to vibrate in sympathy with the strings. The larger surface area of the box interacts readily with the surrounding air, creating sizeable pressure fluctuations which we hear as sounds.
This chapter aims to provide a brief introduction to cello acoustics and to add sufficient detail to the above simple model to explain various features of practical importance to players. The last thirty years have witnessed intense activity in the study of the acoustics of stringed musical instruments. In the case of bowed stringed instruments, work has concentrated almost exclusively on the violin, and readers interested in pursuing the subject further are directed to several standard works on the subject. In many respects, the differences between violins and cellos are simply a matter of scale, the acoustical principles being the same in both cases. However, the increased body size and heavier strings and structure bring particular problems associated with starting transients and wolf-notes, both of which will be discussed later.
6 - The acoustics of the piano
- from Part one - Pianos and pianists
- Edited by David Rowland, The Open University, Milton Keynes
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Piano
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- 28 September 2011
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- 19 November 1998, pp 96-114
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Introduction
The underlying acoustical principles of sound production on the piano are very straightforward. When a key is depressed, it causes a small, felt-covered hammer to be thrown against a set of strings tuned to a specific note of the scale. The key incorporates an escapement mechanism which detaches the hammer from the key just before striking the strings so that they receive a single, unimpeded blow from the hammer. The exchange of momentum causes the strings to vibrate, and it is these vibrations which are the origin of the musical sound. The strings do not radiate sound directly, however, because they are much too small to interact with the surrounding air. Instead, they are coupled to a soundboard, a lightweight plate of wood, which is specifically designed to vibrate in sympathy with the strings. It is the structural vibrations of the soundboard which induce pressure changes in the air, rather in the manner of a loudspeaker cone, to create the sound we hear.
This is, of course, just the start of the story. This simple explanation of the mechanical action of the piano invites more questions than it answers. Why do different pianos have different sound qualities? What is the function of double and triple stringing? What control does the performer have on the final sound quality of an instrument? In searching for the answers to these questions, we discover that the piano has a few hidden secrets of surprising complexity, and we have to marvel at the ingenuity of the craftsmen who have played their part in the development of the modern instrument and at the skill of the technician who keeps a piano at the peak of its performance.
2 - The physics of the violin
- Edited by Robin Stowell, University of Wales College of Cardiff
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Companion to the Violin
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- 28 September 2011
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- 10 December 1992, pp 30-45
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Introduction
A study of the physics of the violin gives a fascinating insight into how the instrument converts the player's intricate motions into musical sounds. Practising musicians are often blissfully unaware of the ways in which their instruments function, but a basic understanding of the mechanics involved can be of great benefit when teaching, selecting instruments or dealing with minor problems. It also brings a little more objectivity to a subject otherwise clouded with myth, mystique and superstition.
The twentieth century has witnessed a great increase in the scientific evaluation and development of a wide range of musical instruments. Occasionally, investigations are designed specifically to improve the performance of instruments or to achieve greater control during their manufacture. Some of these studies have been successful. More usually, they are carried out purely for the sake of curiosity – a desire to seek a rational explanation of an observed phenomenon. The researcher now has a wide range of powerful analytical techniques at his disposal. For example, he can use sensitive electronic instrumentation, high-speed computers and even lasers to probe the tiny vibrations of the violin. Although these physical studies have demonstrated the basic action of the violin and unravelled a few of its 'mysteries', they are still far from answering those tantalising questions relating to the finer details of violin tone.