What is new

Version 0.9 (March 31 2006): This String Calculator is a brand new Java version of my 10 years old JavaScript calculator Arto's String Calculator.

The main differences and new possibilities are:

• In the old calculator you had only two possibilities for tuning the a', only 440 Hz and 415.3 Hz. Now it is possible to choose any pitch to the a', in the range 1-20000 Hz. Of course you normally set it to 440 Hz, 415 Hz, 430 Hz, 460 Hz, 442 Hz, ..., to something "normal". So just edit the second "Hz"-field and enter the new value!
• Now you can use "two calculators" for both calculating the tensions and calculating the diameters; it is nice to be able to compare near-by diameters/tensions when you are selecting strings.
• When you change the note parameters (name, octave, pitch of a') or string parameters ( length, material density), all the valid calculations are made automatically.
• When changing the diameter or the tension, you can of course "push the button", but also an "enter" in the parameter field will activate the calculation.
• For choosing the string material now there is a "box". Be aware that those material densities are just examples! You can of course edit directly the density field.
• There are also some other minor changes in usability etc.

Using the calculator

The basic use of the calculator is:

1. Set the note and tuning properties.
2. Set the string properties.
3. Now there are two basic ways:
   1. Set some diameter of a string and calculate the tension. This is useful for example, when you want to know "Can I use this string for that course?"
   2. Set some tension of a string and calculate the diameter. This is useful, for example, if you already know that some string feels good, and you want to find out, what diameter to use to get the same tension for some other course and note.

Of course you can make also other kind of calculations. Some examples:

• You have a string and you want to know, where it can be used. Just set the diameter and change the note. Or change the string length.
• You just want to know the frequence of a note. The calculator always shows the frequency of the selected note.
• ...

I made this calculator lute instruments in mind, but of course it can be used to calculate string tensions and diameters for whatsoever stringed instrument: harpsichord, harp, viola da gamba, guitar, ..., even grand piano. It is, anyhow, very important to understand that it can calculate only homogeneous string calculations! Thus wound strings, catlines, and such, are excluded.

The allowed ranges of input values are:

Notes and octaves	C'', D'', E'', ..., c, d, e, ... c', d', e', ..., b'''''
The frequency (pitch) of a'	1.0 - 20000.0 Hz
String length	1.0 - 10000.0 mm
String material density	10.0 - 100000.0 Kg/m³
Input string diameter	0.01 - 20.0 mm
Input string tension	0.01 - 100 Kg

Absurd parameters and absurd results are possible! You must know, what you are doing! But isn't it nice that you can also calculate, how to tune the rig of your sailing ship... ;-)

Some details and comments:

• Note name:
  Normal English note names: c, d, e, f, g, a, b. If you are a Finn, German, etc., find out that the English b is our h! And our b is b flat in English! Normal English note accent names: flat and sharp. Because of the equal temperament used by the Calculator, for example instead of d flat you can use c sharp.
• Octave:
  The "Middle c" (261.63 Hz) is named c'. One octave below is c, two octaves below is C, three octaves below is C', etc. The note one octave above Middle c is named c'', next octave c''', etc.
• Pitch of the a':
  The pitch of the note a' can be set in the Calculator. Modern "normal" pitch is a'=440 Hz. Many symphony orchestras use a'=442, even a'=445. Modern word "baroque pitch" means a'=415 Hz. For early classicism some use a'=430 Hz. In 17th century Venice the pitch might have been a'=460 Hz. Etc., etc... The calculator allows the a' be anything between 1.0 - 20000.0 Hz, but only a small range really is useful...
• String length: 1.0 - 10000.0 mm
  The exteremes here are really not useful...
• Density of the string material:
  Density here means the weight of a cubic meter of the string material. Nylon is as light as water, gut is a little hevier, ... The densities of the named materials in the Calculator are just examples! Different makers might have different materials... The Nylgut® means gut-like synthetic strings made by Aquila Strings, the "carbon" is actually some high density hydrocarbon polymer. My old calculator has a "sub-calculator", if you wish to calculate the densities by yourself.
• String diameter:
  The allowed input range 0.01 - 20.0 mm is unrealistic large. Absurd parameters and absurd results are possible! You must know, what you are doing!
• String tension:
  Tension is actually a force, and the "unit of tension" in my Calculator, Kg, is actually and "officially" a unit of mass! I anyhow prefer this everyday way of expressing the tension: In my Calculator the "tension d Kg" means the tension that the string gets, when a weight of d Kilograms is hanging on the string! The allowed input range 0.01 - 100 Kg is unrealistic large. Absurd parameters and absurd results are possible! You must know, what you are doing!

History, copyright etc.

March 2006 I started planning, how to introduce beginner programming students the ideas of graphical user interfaces. Programming those in pure Java is quite filled with details that easily prevent you seeing the basic ideas. So I programmed a class, with which it could be much easier for beginners to make their own graphical programs. And to test my class I decided to re-program my old string calculator...

You use this calculator at your own risk! I am not responsible of any damage to your strings or instruments... Anyhow, as far as I understand, this calculator should work properly.

I hope you will let me know, what you think of my new calculator; what is good, what could be made better, etc. And especially, if you find something wrong or inconvenient with this calculator, let me know! (wikla at cs helsinki fi).

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