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Abstract This is a musical project about the resonance of closed-end air columns. Organ pipes, flutes, and brass instruments are examples of musical instruments of this type. In this project, you'll learn how the pitch of the note produced depends on the length of the column. All you need are some bottles, water, a ruler, and a chromatic tuner.Objective The goal of this project is to determine the relationship between musical note frequency and fluid level when producing notes by blowing over the top of a partially-filled bottle. Introduction Some musical instruments produce sound from vibrating strings, others from vibrating reeds, and still others from resonating columns of air. In this project you'll study a simple example of the latter type of instrument: a narrow-necked bottle partially filled with water. You can learn about the physics behind this type of instrument by studying resonance in closed-end air columns (Henderson, 2007b; University of Virginia, date unknown). Can you figure out the relationship between fluid level in the bottle and the pitch produced when you blow across the top of the bottle? How about the note produced by tapping on the side of a partially-filled bottle? Does it change in the same manner? Terms, Concepts, and Questions to Start Background Research To do this project, you should do research that enables you to understand the following terms and concepts:
Questions
Bibliography
Materials and Equipment To do this experiment you will need the following materials and equipment:
Experimental Procedure
Variations
Credits Andrew Olson, Ph.D., Science Buddies
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If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring related careers.
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Physicist Physicists have a big goal in mind—to understand the nature of the entire universe and everything in it! To reach that goal, they observe and measure natural events seen on Earth and in the universe, and then develop theories, using mathematics, to explain why those phenomena occur. Physicists take on the challenge of explaining events that happen on the grandest scale imaginable to those that happen at the level of the smallest atomic particles. Their theories are then applied to human-scale projects to bring people new technologies, like computers, lasers, and fusion energy. |
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