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Comma of Didymus

The musical interval by which four fifths exceed a seventeenth (i.e., two octaves and a major third),

\begin{displaymath}
{({\textstyle{3\over 2}})^4\over 2^2({\textstyle{5\over 4}})} = {3^4\over 2^4\cdot 5} = {81\over 80} = 1.0125,
\end{displaymath}

also called a Syntonic Comma.

See also Comma of Pythagoras, Diesis, Schisma




© 1996-9 Eric W. Weisstein
1999-05-26