Carolinn Skyler of Philadelphia owns the largest glass harmonica ever made, an instrument designed for concert performance, with 61 bowls, covering five octaves plus a note.
An instrument designed for visual observation of spectra is called a spectroscope; an instrument that photographs or maps spectra is a spectrograph.
Like insurance against fire or theft, it protects investors against the risk of default.But, as often in finance, an instrument designed for insurance became a tool for speculators.
David Lindley (he of the overdriven lap-steel solo on Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty") has opened quarries of old-time music and brought new life to the Weissenborn, a hollow-necked six-string acoustic instrument designed for Hawaiian music.
The Manton instrument, designed for unusual versatility by a French organ builder, Pascal Quoirin, is ideal for Messiaen's music, producing a wide, nuanced range of tones, blends and dynamics.
COSI, a lightweight instrument designed for superballoon flight, was capable of sending data back in real time in case it couldn't be recovered.
