![]() ![]() The first plot of nominal frequency against weight shows there is a primary linear relationship but with significant excursions. All the plots are log plots using natural logarithms. Weights are plotted in kilogrammes and diameters in metres. The bells span nine centuries and hundreds of founders. ![]() To demonstrate the relationship between bell nominal frequencies, diameters and weights the plots below cover 7,165 bells with weights ranging from 1.84kg (bell number 2 in David Bagley’s private ring in Tewkesbury) to 71,800kg (the heaviest bell at Trinity Lavra, Sergiyev Posad, Russia). Charts of weight, diameter and nominal frequency And although heavier bells in general have a lower nominal frequency, when a bell is tuned its weight goes down but often its nominal goes down as well. The smaller bells in both ringing peals and carillons are designed heavy in proportion to the tenors / bass bells to give them more power, in the case of ringing bells to give them better mechanical characteristics, and in the case of small carillon bells to make them big enough to fit the clapper inside. Derby Cathedral tenor has a weight of 19cwt 0qtr 1lb or 966kg and sounds the note Db – only a semitone higher and 1.9 tonnes lighter. Wells Cathedral tenor has a weight of 56cwt 1qtr 14lbs or 2,864kg and sounds the note C. As an example, compare the tenors of the peals of 10 at Derby Cathedral and Wells Cathedral. But as will be seen, conclusions can still be drawn.īells with the same note can have a range of weights. A subsidiary question of interest is whether steel bells are lighter than their bronze equivalents.Īlthough it is all we have, published information on bell weights is not always of the best quality: the weight of bells can be exaggerated, weights can be estimates, and canons may or may not have been removed from older bells. So it is useful to be able to estimate the weight of a bell from other data. ![]() Bell weights on the other hand cannot be measured without substantial lifting and weighing equipment, and permission to weigh a bell in the tower is very unlikely to be granted unless other work is in progress. But are there any quantitative rules that allow, say, a bell’s weight to be estimated from its diameter and partial frequencies? Partial tones and bell diameters are generally easy to measure or are published. Bell weights, diameters and frequencies are obviously related heavier bells sound a deeper note, and heavier bells are generally bigger in diameter. ![]()
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