Editing Tuning fork (section)

{{Short description|Device that generates sounds of constant pitch when struck}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[Image:TuningFork659Hz.jpg|thumb|Tuning fork by John Walker stamped with note (E) and frequency in hertz (659)]]

A '''tuning fork''' is an [[Musical acoustics|acoustic]] [[resonator]] in the form of a two-pronged [[fork]] with the prongs ([[Tine (structural)|''tines'']]) formed from a U-shaped bar of [[Elastic deformation|elastic]] metal (usually [[steel]]). It [[acoustic resonance|resonates]] at a specific constant [[pitch (music)|pitch]] when set vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object, and emits a pure musical tone once the high [[overtone]]s fade out. A tuning fork's pitch depends on the length and mass of the two prongs. They are traditional sources of standard pitch for [[musical tuning|tuning]] musical instruments.

The tuning fork was invented in 1711 by British musician [[John Shore (trumpeter)|John Shore]], sergeant [[trumpet]]er and [[lute]]nist to the royal court.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=9172630 |year=1997 |last1=Feldmann |first1=H. |title=History of the tuning fork. I: Invention of the tuning fork, its course in music and natural sciences. Pictures from the history of otorhinolaryngology, presented by instruments from the collection of the Ingolstadt German Medical History Museum |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=116–22 |doi=10.1055/s-2007-997398 |journal=Laryngo-rhino-otologie}}</ref>