Ceramic Bells: Aural Performance and Geometric Design
Robert Fathauer

Proceedings of Bridges 2023: Mathematics, Art, Music, Architecture, Culture
Pages 283–290
Regular Papers

Abstract

I describe an exploration of the aural characteristics of ceramic structures with a variety of geometric forms, from simple test rectangles, rings, and tubes to sculptural bell-like forms, including polyhedra. Frequency spectra were compared after bisque firing and after an additional cone 6 firing. Young’s modulus was determined for both cases, with a near doubling observed after cone-6 firing, from 11 to 22 × 109 N/m2. This led to a near doubling of frequencies, as well as clearer tones, with reduced broad spectral features surrounding the dominant resonances. The purest tone was obtained with a truncated polar zonohedron that approximates a traditional bell form.

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