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Big air.
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- Author(s): Fischetti, Mark
- Source:
Scientific American; Jul2004, Vol. 291 Issue 1, p110-111, 2p, 4 Diagrams
- Subject Terms:
- Additional Information
- Abstract:
Pipe organs are the largest, most powerful musical instruments on earth. Yet a mere sliver of wood stands between a thundering roar and dead silence. Organs have functioned on the same simple physics since they were first constructed around 250 BC. Air flows from a reservoir up past leather-covered wooden pallets into pipes of various lengths, vibrating to produce different pitches. A modest church organ with two keyboards, foot pedals, and 16 or so stops may have about 1,200 pipes, cost around $200,000 and take two years to craft by hand. INSET: DID YOU KNOW....
