This world around
us is so unique. And that’s putting it vaguely. Somehow, out of the billions
upon billions of planets in the known and unknown universe, so far, this is the
only one we’ve found capable of sustaining life as we know it. That’s no small
order. So now how cool does this world look?
The better question
is, how cool does this world sound?
From the sound of
birds chirping on the awning to the noise the wind made in the acid addled
brains of Led Zeppelin when it whistled the words of “Stairway to Heaven”
through an open window to them, (That’s the rumor anyway), this planet produces
a variety of sounds every day that if harnessed in unison can produce some
remarkably unique compositions.
But sometimes it
isn’t the wind producing those sounds. Sometimes it’s something even more
unique, like Leland Sprinkle’s Stalacpipe organ located in the Luray Caverns.
They can found in the state of Virginia, United States. It isn’t exactly your
normal lithophone. How does it differ you ask? If you haven’t noticed from the
picture, it’s missing an essential component to be classified as an organ.
Or is it?
Join me today as we
explore the strange history behind an organless organ built underground by the
CIA, the principles it works on, and the man who decided he’d like to move his
night at the Opera to a more secretive location.
A
Tinsmith, A Boneyard, and a Mineral Diva-posit
The year was 1878.
A tinsmith, his nephew, and a couple other locals went out to check on a
sinkhole that had opened up. They got to digging and after a while had a hole
big enough for the smallest of the men to slip through. Sliding down a rope,
the tinsmith Andrew J. Campbell and his nephew Quint went to work exploring the
caverns by candlelight.
Upon entering the
area that is now known as Skeleton’s Gorge the Mystery Inc. duo discovered
human remains embedded in calcite deposits and evidence of occupation. The
remains are now thought to be that of a 500 year old Native American child. She’s
thought to have ended up there when a sinkhole swallowed a burial ground into
the cavern system some centuries ago.
Andrew may have
been but a humble metal-worker but he knew he had something. The farm was going
up for auction at the behest of the current owner so he and his cohorts decided
to keep Luray Cave to themselves for now. When the day came they purchased the
property for a steal considering what lay underneath it. But when the cat
clawed its way out of the bag there was a firestorm and it burned its way right
for Campbell.
At the end of the
litigation of fraud claims against him the Supreme Court ruled in favor of
Virginia, taking the property back.
Andrew Campbell
owned the property for 3 years from 1878 to 1881 however, and during this time
he frequently conducted tours of the cave system, for a fee of course. One of
these tours just so happened to be the Smithsonian and Campbell did something
that surprised this group of hardcore Scientists.
He played them
musical tones by tapping on the stalactites.
Even after he lost
the rights to the property the caverns rest upon, this part of the tour lived
on. It’s through this method that people assume Sprinkle came up with his
organ. He and his son were there in the caverns in 1954 taking a tour and I can
only imagine he was just as amazed by the mineral deposits ability to carry a
tune as the group from the Smithsonian.
But he had a plan
to make it better.
Leland
Sprinkle’s Underground Orchestra
If there is one thing
the CIA do well its build things underground. At the time the Stalacpipe Organ
was built Leland Sprinkle was working for the CIA as an electronics specialist.
The rumor (as noted in Pepe Deluxe from the 1950s) is that while Leland and his son Robert were walking
through the cave a stalactite hit his son in the head. The sound produced a
beautiful note and inspired his creation.
So either the man
should be hailed as a musical genius or the worst father of the year. (I don’t
know about you but if a giant projectile plummeted from the ceiling into my son’s
cranium the last thing I’m thinking about is the note it made.) Either way his
creation was one of pure brilliance regardless of which origin story you choose
to believe.
With the aid of tuning forks and a
stethoscope, Sprinkle very carefully went around and tapped various stalactites
through the Luray Caverns and listened to the sounds they made. He would shave
ones that met his standards down if need be to perfectly attenuate the sound.
He was nothing if not meticulous (he was also a mathematician after all).
So how did he tune
into the correct sound when he found the ones that were close enough to his
liking? Precision Tube Oscillators were the answer to bringing the hanging
formations into perfect pitch. Now there was another problem. If you ran wires
and metal bars up the pipes you just brought into pitch you’re only going to
distort the sound.
This was an easy
problem to avoid. While I’m sure he had to pass up some real nice sounding “pipes”
in favor of the ones he ground down, ones that were grouped in clusters were
his targets. The wiring and supports for the mechanisms were run around these
clumps of stalactites.
Wired ever so
carefully within striking distance of his select stalacpipes are the cause of
what produces the beautiful sound. The rubber mallets, wired to solenoids, strike
the stalactite in conjunction with a key press on the organ below. The design
is quite ingenious considering the thirty-seven “pipes” are spread across a 3.5
acre span. That’s about the length of two and a half football fields. What’s
more is the sound can be heard from anywhere in the 6 acre enclosure.
So if the mallets
that make the sounds are spread so far out how can you even hear it from where
you’re playing it? Turns out building your Opera house in a cave offers other
advantages than just having a secret super villain layer on the market as a
time share. A couple days ago we talked about Echolocation.
Today we’re going to talk about echoes themselves.
Natural
Acoustics
The unique
structure of caves offers a huge benefit to sound enthusiasts everywhere. The
Stalacpipe takes full advantage of the acoustics of the caverns. Acoustics, in
this instance, are the properties of an area or room that dynamically effect
the transmission of sound waves. The cave is the best place for an impromptu
concerto, and here’s why.
When a sound wave
is created it travels forward from the source. That wave can be interacted with
by a number of outside factors. In this case it’s the dense rock of the cave
walls. It bounces off of one wall, perhaps at an angle since the walls aren’t
smooth like in say, your bedroom, then bounces off another, then another. For
the most part the room is open on all sides. Surrounded by thick walls with no
opening to escape through and no filter to dampen it, the wave circles around
and around, looping over itself and growing louder until reaching its peak.
Once it reaches its peak the wave begins to die down. All of this happens very
fast, but it happens nonetheless.
So who discovered
this phenomena? It started in 6th century BC, the Greek philosopher
Pythagoras wanted to know why some sounds were more pleasant than others. What
he discovered was an integer system still used today (not bad huh?).
Basically what that
graphic illustrates is the harmonic overtone series of a string. Fundamentally it’s
a series of integers representing the vibrations of the string that produces
the wave. Picture these as strings on a guitar. If all strings are tuned to a “C”
note but kept in proportion to their respective octaves (alternate tuning) all
the strings will produce the same note, just at a different level. The top
string (1/2) will have a very low sound whereas the low string (1/7) will have
a very high sound, but it will be the same note.
A few hundred years
later, between 384-322 BC, philosopher Aristotle theorized that sound consisted
of contractions and expansions of the air "falling upon and striking the
air which is next to it..." No wonder people think the guy’s so smart,
because he was absolutely correct. That’s how we describe wave motion.
In 20 BC, Roman
engineer Vitruvius wrote a treatise on the acoustical properties of ancient
theatres. He wrote how the “wave” would become obstructed when objects like
bronze statues and patrons were put in its direct path. He described the sound
waves in relation to water waves except, three dimensional. Here’s a drawing of
his vision.
Ever wonder why
seats in an auditorium gradually ascend? It’s to stop the deterioration of
sound from bouncing off the thick heads of the theatergoers. (Just kidding!)
Thanks Vitruvius.
Throughout the next
two millennium acoustics would see major advances. Major players like Galileo
and Newton would even perform experiments in this field. But at the end of the
day, acoustics comes down to sound waves and mathematics, and the thick walls
of this cave formation provide just the right environment to bounce the sound
around for the enjoyment of thousands of tourists every year.
Playin’
It Cool
In 1901, near the
opening of the Luray Caverns, was a humble Sanatorium on a hill. This place was
called Limair Sanatorium. It’s long since burned down, replaced by the visitor’s
center of the tourist attraction Stalacpipes, but at one point there was a very
crucial treatment center. It offered something that no other place at the time
had even heard of. Air conditioning.
The air temperature
of the caverns is a pleasant 54 degrees at all times. With a little help from a
smart man named Colonel T.C. Northcott, this was very easily exploited.
What looks like the
makings of a Federal prison detainee’s escape plan is actually the diagram for
how the Colonel did it. By sinking a shaft deep down into the caverns and
installing a fan beneath the hospital, his system could change out the air in
the entire house in less than four minutes. Even on the hottest day this
innovation kept the whole building at a constant 70 degrees F.
In 1905 Popular Mechanics published an article about “The first air-conditioning in
the world!” in reference to Northcott’s design. It was hailed as a
bacteriologically sterile environment. While that wouldn’t hold up under today’s
standards, for the turn of the century, that was pretty clean.
So this historic
facility is important to the tourist industry, holds the Guiness record for
world’s largest instrument, invented air-conditioning, and gave us an early
glimpse of how dirty the banking system could be. But I know what you’re
thinking, “all this history makes my brain hurt. Just show me what it sounds
like.”
Without further ado…
From
Under a Rock to the Spotlight
Yeah. That’s the
sound of the Stalacpipe Organ. Don’t believe me? You callin’ me a liar????
Huh???? Huh!?!?
You sayin’ you need
proof bro? You need proof? That what you need bro???
I got proof! Proof
for days!
Quite simple
actually. While this instrument may not be shrouded in the same kind of spy
mystery Leon Theramin found himself entangled in, (Last issue of “Sing a Song of Science! – The Theremin”) its uniqueness cannot be denied, and
you should enjoy it while you can. Just because the stalactites only grow a
decameter a decade (just kidding, its more like an inch a year) doesn’t mean
this cave will last forever, it’s a natural formation. Any number of things
could happen and it could be swallowed up.
I recommend you
take a trip to the caverns and see this wondrous beauty for yourself. But if
that isn’t possible, I definitely recommend
you watch these other videos, showcasing this wonderful instrument.
It’s been featured
on children’s shows…
I agree Spider-Man.
The story of Luray Caverns and Leland Sprinkler is a very cool one indeed. We
all knew that nature was creative, but who knew she had such wonderful pitch.
Thanks for reading everyone!
-Ryan Sanders
Thank
you for reading my blog! Please share this around on Twitter and Facebook if
you enjoyed it! If you would like to know about Luray Caverns, the Stalacpipes,
or any of the other material discussed in the article above feel free to follow
any of the links below. Comments? Questions? Cool! More than happy to hear
them! Until next time, Happy Learning!
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