EFFECTIVE MASS: Here is a cogent, scientifically based and rational explanation.

[Neil McCauley]

HP asked Geoffrey Owen, the driving force behind Helius Designs if he could and indeed would find the time to explain the reality behind effective mass and - in so doing - confound the misinformation, disinformation and scientific ignorance that clouds so many discussions of this topic.

As an aside and somewhat mischievously, Howard (who prior to this article couldn’t explain Eff.M to save his life, and neither could I) if Eff.M was actually important and if so, how could a ‘civilian’ make use of this knowledge. Mr. Owen graciously replied and below is what he told us. We are, as is always the case with his contributions, both enlightened and appreciative.

Thank you Geoffrey

Neil

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Introduction

When asked to explain meaning of Effective Mass, I feel a certain affinity with Stephen Hawking when he talks of Schrödinger’s Cat – ‘I reach for my gun’, he famously said.

Erwin Schrödinger’s wave equation has one thing in common with Effective Mass - its significance is just as obscure when transposed to the real world. The cat story is something you can look up on the internet if you’re interested; suffice it to say the scenario was created to illustrate the absurdity of scaling up quantum phenomena to human size. Schrödinger’s ‘thought experiment’ remains as entertaining and bizarre today as it was in the 1930’s, yet it still remains mathematically correct to describe the cat as being simultaneously half alive and half dead.

The context is all important

Effective Mass is a parameter considered important by enthusiasts, yet is actually meaningless when taken out of context with cartridge compliance. Including the word ‘mass’ in the phrase is somewhat misleading as there exists only an abstract association between the two.

What people tend to mean when they talk of Effective Mass is ‘how heavy the arm appears to be, to the cartridge’.
Avoiding oversimplification

‘Mass’ is certainly used when calculating Eff.M but it’s a variable in a rather simple equation that doesn’t .....

Continues at http://www.hifianswers.com/2017/04/e...l-explanation/

[Stratmangler]

If you're going to provide a link to something, at least make sure that it works.
I'm told that the HiFi Answers page doesn't exist ...

[Neil McCauley]

If you're going to provide a link to something, at least make sure that it works.
I'm told that the HiFi Answers page doesn't exist ...

I tried it just now and the link worked fine. I regret that our system is not 100% perfect 100% of the time. This time however, we cannot see a problem. Meanwhile, a polite request / alert would have been sufficient. Thank you. Neil

http://http://www.hifianswers.com/20...l-explanation/

[RothwellAudio]

I get "page not found" too.

[Neil McCauley]

I get "page not found" too.

Thank you. I will get our developer to take a look and will then update here.

[Neil McCauley]

If you're going to provide a link to something, at least make sure that it works.
I'm told that the HiFi Answers page doesn't exist ...

Try this please: http://www.hifianswers.com/2017/04/e...l-explanation/

[Neil McCauley]

I get "page not found" too.

Please try this: http://www.hifianswers.com/2017/04/e...l-explanation/

[RothwellAudio]

Please try this: http://www.hifianswers.com/2017/04/e...l-explanation/

Now I'm told that membership is required.

BTW, requiring membership of a forum before posting is allowed is one thing, but requiring membership of a website before being able to read content is another imho.

[Neil McCauley]

Now I'm told that membership is required.

BTW, requiring membership of a forum before posting is allowed is one thing, but requiring membership of a website before being able to read content is another imho.

Hmm. i see where you are coming from. Please let me explain:

Any visitor who isn't a member can achieve access to 'n' posts in any 24 hour period without the membership invitation being generated. 'n' is a variable driven by an algorithm that is influenced by the number of site visitors (and additional variables too) in the preceding 24 hours 24/7

You were (probably) asked for membership because you tried > n times in 24 hours We suggest you wait 24 hours (if you feel so inclined) and try again and you might not be invited to accept membership. Worth a try perhaps - if membership is not of interest?

Finally, yes, you are quite correct, our policy is 'another'. That's the way we designed it! Participation in our site is an invitation - not a command. You are completely free of any obligation; you can decline or accept the invitation as you see fit.

Thank you.

Neil

[Ali Tait]

It does not seem to work that way however. I constantly get the "membership required" now, have done for weeks.