Craft · 6 pages · 12 min

How a bow hair grips a string

Bow hair coated with rosin alternately sticks to the string and slips, and that cycle keeps the string swinging.

I understand the following: I can download a file of this brief, and I can also read it in the library on this browser. Clearing the cache or cookies deletes the library copy. The file must be downloaded for access to be retained.

When the purchase is complete, return to the original window. It will refresh.

From the opening

A bow's ribbon of horsehair grips a string by friction, not by being glued to it. Rosin on the hair makes the grip tacky enough to catch the string, pull it aside, and then let go, over and over while the bow is drawn. The opening covers rosin gives the hair its tack, the string sticks and then slips, and each catch feeds the wave.

The rest of the brief — the later sections and the reading notes — opens after Stripe confirms payment.

Inside

Rosin gives the hair its tack
The string sticks and then slips
Each catch feeds the wave
Bare hair mostly slides
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Stick-slip excitation of a string
Rosin on horsehair

06The short physics of sourdoughCraft24 min$12 14How a library decides what to keepCraft24 min$12 0510How paper is made from fiberCraft12 min$20

How a bow hair grips a string

From the opening

Inside

Sources

Also on the desk