Tuning Fork
A tuning fork is a tool used to correct the pitch on various instruments. It is a U-shaped device with a handle. It gives a fixed tone when struck. This tool was invented in 1711 by John Shore. The tuning fork has lost a lot of its appeal in the market for tuning instruments. This is because of new technology creating software for tuning instruments that is very simple and fast to use.
Tuning forks are set to the A pitch as a standard in the industry. This standard allows musicians all over the world to play in harmony without sounds that clash with one another. There are electronic tuning forks, but they have never been very popular. When you strike the tuning fork, the two prongs on the fork vibrate to produce a sound wave.
Not to worry, tuning forks are finding their use in the medical field. They have been used to assess levels of hearing in patients as well providing therapeutic results. Patients have been given recordings of tuning fork sounds. The recordings are used to relax and relieve stress. Ironically, the tuning fork as a tool in music has diminished due to technology.
Yet production of the tuning fork is up because the tool is used inside computers. The tuning forks are very small. They vibrate thin pieces of quartz crystal. This allows processing clocks to tick at certain intervals. Tuning forks are also finding their way into physics classrooms. They are used to study longitudinal waves.
Onlinetuningfork.com is a comprehensive site is a very informative site regarding tuning forks. There and throughout the internet you can find information regarding the history of tuning forks, the various uses, and on some sites listen to sounds from a tuning fork.
