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Article: Organic developments: from one coliseum to another, this pneumatic machine has served athletes, emperors, and a genius or two.
- Article from:
- Mechanical Engineering-CIME
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IT'S APRIL, AND THE TIME OF YEAR IS UPON US when fans head to the ballpark. Maybe you can hear it now--the crack of the bat, the keyboard fanfare for a base hit--the background music for the summer.
What many fans may not realize, however, is that they are hearing the echo of a sound that originated more than 2,000 years ago. The pipe organ was already centuries old, for instance, when it provided music for the stadia of imperial Rome, where gladiators chased more than baseballs.
The earliest versions of the instrument contained a number of sophisticated pneumatic devices, including pressure regulators, check valves, and piston pumps. Much of the organ ...