Where did I read this...

[Carlton Bach]

it's been going round my head much of the day - I recall reading somewhere that artillerymen in the ancient world were expected to have a talent for music because they had to tension their weapons 'by ear'.

Does anyone know where this comes from?

[Senovara]

:?: Do you mean, tensioning them to a certain pitch, and as such the men could "hear" when it was correct ...

[Paullus Scipio]

"Next, the ends of the ropes are threaded through the holes in the frames and passed through to the other end; next, the rope-ends are fastened to the windlasses and turned, so that the ropes, stretched by levers by means of windlasses, when plucked by hand,have an equal sound response in each case. Then, the ropes are secured in the holes by wedges, so that they cannot unstretch: thus, after being passed through to the other end, they are stretched in the same way by levers by means of the windlasses until they sound the same note. Thus, by locking the ropes with wedges, catapults are tuned to the same note by means of musical sounds."
Vitruvius 12.1 'On the stretching and tuning of ballistae and Catapults' from Vitruvius " Artillery". :wink: D

[Senovara]

:o )

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Why not? There are many things we do today in industry that only a few years ago relied on feel, perception and our senses. Now if a gauge says something is ok we believe it, until things go pear shaped. :roll:

You can hear when equipment is under load, when it is straining,
when it is not running correctly. You can sense things going worong out of line of sight by the change in vibrations, sounds etc.

well anyway, I am rambling again.....

[Simplex]

Yes, folks ....
I think this can be done.
Years ago I was witnessing a guy doing the final tensioning of a bike-wheel's spokes by ear. The gauge only proved him to be perfectly right.
Other people do hear motors run i a manner as to predict future problems or not. There are still a lot of situations where human senses still better any gauge by far.

Greez

Simplex

[Conal]

British Rail of old used to have "wheel tappers" who used to hit the train wheels with a small hammer and could tell by the sound if they were damaged or cracked ... now its done electronically hock:

[Athena Areias]

Correctly fired bricks have a certain ring when tapped with a hammer or struck together.

I worked in a cheese factory where long provolone cheeses were hit with a little hammer/corer tool. If the cheese didn't sound "right" when struck, a core was taken out. If the core was full of holes, a piece was broken off and tasted. A bad cheese had the most bitter taste I have ever tasted. You don't want to know what happened to the cheese after that.

OK, back on-topic...

[Marcus Julius]

You don't want to know what happened to the cheese after that.

It was donated to the government for the welfare program?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I do agree that an experienced human ear can do wonderful things. I once took in a car to have the belts and/or water pump looked at, because it was making a squealing noise and overheating. When I pulled in, before the hood was opened, he asked me how long my alternator had been out :? Turns out the overheating was just the thermostat valve.