Optimum Ribbon Material ?

[Borat]

well i guess it should be strong, light, and very conductive ? so what would do that ?

i believe when aluminum oxidizes on the surface it forms an insulator ? wouldn't this just be dead weight on a ribbon ? perhaps it would be better to use a gold plated aluminum foil so the entire mass would conduct ?

and what about strength ? aluminum is pretty weak. can it be reinforced with something ?

what about "MMX" ribbon in Raven - what was that ?

[tinitus]

Originally Posted by Borat

what about "MMX" ribbon in Raven - what was that ?

Dont know about that
But as far as I know the Raven ribbon doesnt take much power, or at least it have been so

Gold ?
Maybe "leaf gold" could be interesting

Anyway, as I just said to a friend, "hunting for perfection is a waste of time"
Especially if it means nothing gets done

Its the art of compromise that makes things work

As said in another thread, even ordinary household materials are good enough to make a very sweet sounding ribbon
You just need to do it right
Its how you handle the material that matters most

Maybe nano material is the way

btw, has there ever been a electro magnetic ribbon ?

[Ed Holland]

Originally Posted by tinitus

Dont know about that
But as far as I know the Raven ribbon doesnt take much power, or at least it have been so

Gold ?
Maybe "leaf gold" could be interesting

Anyway, as I just said to a friend, "hunting for perfection is a waste of time"
Especially if it means nothing gets done

Its the art of compromise that makes things work

As said in another thread, even ordinary household materials are good enough to make a very sweet sounding ribbon
You just need to do it right
Its how you handle the material that matters most

Maybe nano material is the way
btw, has there ever been a electro magnetic ribbon ?

As soon as we can grow, isolate and align carbon nanotubes 50cm long there might be something to shout about! Electrical transport in these structures is said to be "ballistic" and a ribbon sized bundle of nanotubes could yield very low resistance and light weight...

[poopydoopynoopy]

aluminum foil with a thin packaging tape on one side.
Plays very low and is VERY strong.

[Borat]

Originally Posted by Ed Holland

As soon as we can grow, isolate and align carbon nanotubes 50cm long there might be something to shout about! Electrical transport in these structures is said to be "ballistic" and a ribbon sized bundle of nanotubes could yield very low resistance and light weight...

not to mention durability ...

yes interesting candidate for the not-so-near future.

[Borat]

Originally Posted by poopydoopynoopy

aluminum foil with a thin packaging tape on one side.
Plays very low and is VERY strong.

what sort of packaging tape ?

how titanium foil with a thick layer of aluminum deposited on its surface and with another thin layer of gold deposited on top of the aluminum ?

[LineSource]

Originally Posted by tinitus

btw, has there ever been a electro magnetic ribbon ?

The first ribbon patent in 1925 was for a design using an electromagnet to generate the field.

For ribbon material, today I think pure aluminum around 5-6 micron thickness sounds the best and provides good durability. When I work harden pure aluminum it starts to generate an audible a sizzle on high frequencies. I hear the same sizzle with more durable aluminum alloys like 5056. A thin spray on polymer can dampen sizzle, or strengthen the ribbon for midrange strain. Some magic mixture of light weight, adequate strength, dampening, and suspension are required to make sweet music.

Carbon nanotubes....looks great on paper, but what does it sound like?

[jzagaja]

How about this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jsuCgGBQ5A

[tinitus]

Ha, that made me laugh

I have actually seen a big ribbon blown out of the gap, so that it kept hanging there

Linsource, nice one with electromagnet
So, the very first ribbon might have been the best one

[Borat]

Originally Posted by jzagaja

How about this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jsuCgGBQ5A

That looks nice. I wonder if it can be made large enough for a line source.