Waves
Oscillations
Pendula
To demonstrate the simple harmonic motion of a pendulum.
3A10.15 Adjustable Simple Pendulum
To show the relationship between period of oscillation and the length of a simple pendulum.
3A10.17 Different Mass Pendula
To show the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum does not depend on its mass.
To show the moment of inertia of a torsion pendulum is directly proportional to its period of oscillation.
Physical Pendula
To show the relationship between a pendulum’s period of oscillation and acceleration due to gravity.
To demonstrate the period of oscillation of a ball on a cycloid track does not depend on the height from which the ball was released.
To show the oscillation of a physical pendulum.
3A15.15 Spherical Physical Pendulum
To show oscillation of a spherical physical pendulum.
Springs and Oscillators
To show that an object rotates about an axis when struck at the corresponding center of percussion.
3A15.54 Center of Percussion Stick and Puck
To show an object has many centers of percussion which correspond to different axes of rotation.
To show the period of oscillation of a mass and spring depends on the mass.
3A20.17 Two Vertical Springs and Masses
To show the dependence of the frequency of oscillation on the spring constant.
3A20.20 Series & Parallel Springs
To demonstrate effective spring constants of springs in series and parallel.
To demonstrate simple harmonic motion of a mass between two springs.
To demonstrate simple harmonic motion in the absence of friction.
Simple Harmonic Motion
3A40.00 Examples of Simple Harmonic Motion
To illustrate different types of simple harmonic motion, and to draw contrast with chaotic motion.
3A40.10 Simple Harmonic Motion and Uniform Circular Motion
To show that simple harmonic motion is the projection of uniform circular motion.
To illustrate the relationship between velocity and position for simple harmonic motion.
To demonstrate circular motion can be converted into linear motion.
Damped Oscillators
3A40.33 Water Oscillation in a Tube
To show simple harmonic motion of water in a tube.
3A40.66 Two Parallel Carts with Springs
To show phase differences in simple harmonic motion.
To show that in a system of two carts connected by a spring, the period of oscillations changes when one cart’s position is fixed.
3A50.10 Over-Damped Simple Harmonic Motion
To demonstrate over-damped simple harmonic motion.
3A50.11 Damped Oscillations - Cart and Springs
To demonstrate the position, velocity and phase space of a mass oscillating between two springs with damping.
3A50.12 Damped Oscillations - Pendulum with Springs
To show damped simple harmonic motion of a pendulum with springs.
To show induced eddy currents damp the oscillations of a pendulum.
To show the damped oscillations of a tuning fork.
Driven Mechanical Resonance
3A60.00 Hand-driven Simple Pendulum
To show the phase shift at resonance of a hand-driven simple pendulum.
3A60.10 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (Video)
To show the consequence of driving a system too hard at resonance.
3A60.35 Driven Bowling Ball Pendulum
To show a small driving force at resonance creates large amplitude oscillations.
3A60.40 Hand-driven Mass on a Spring
To show the phase shift at resonance of a hand-driven mass on a spring.
Coupled Oscillations
3A60.47 Driven Double Spring Oscillator
To demonstrate driven oscillation and resonance.
3A60.99 Water Balloon Resonance
To show a water balloon driven at resonance.
To illustrate coupled oscillations and beat phenomena in a system with two oscillation modes.
3A70.20 Coupled Physical Pendula
To demonstrate normal modes and beats of a mechanical system with two discrete oscillators.
Normal Modes
Lissajous Figures
Non-linear Systems
3A75.10 Normal Modes of Coupled Gliders
To show the normal modes of a mechanical system comprised of discrete masses coupled with springs.
To show Lissajous figures traced in the sand by a pendulum.
3A80.20 Lissajous Patterns on the Oscilloscope
To show stable Lissajous figures.
3A95.10 Water Relaxation Oscillator
To demonstrate periodic motion that is not simple harmonic.
3A95.33 Large Amplitude Pendulum
To show the large amplitude oscillations of a physical pendulum are nonlinear.
3A95.50 Chaotic Double Pendulum
To demonstrate chaotic motion with a double pendulum.
3A95.51 Chaotic Pendulum Phase Space
To show the phase space of a chaotic pendulum.
To demonstrate a circuit in which current oscillates chaotically.
Wave Motion
Transverse Pulses and Waves
To demonstrate transverse traveling and standing waves.
To show a transverse wave pulse is responsible for the loud crack of a whip.
3B10.16 Wave Transitions Between Media
To show that a wave’s velocity and wavelength depend on the media in which it travels.
3B10.30 Torsional Wave Machine
To demonstrate traveling and standing waves in a discrete mechanical system with 72 oscillators.
Longitudinal Pulses and Waves
To demonstrate wave properties.
To demonstrate that the period of a simple pendulum depends on its length and to introduce the concept of aliasing.
To show longitudinal waves with a slinky.
3B20.30 Longitudinal Wave Machine
To demonstrate longitudinal waves with a wave machine.
Standing Waves
Impedance and Dispersion
3B22.10 Modes of Vibration of a Flexible Spring
To show the normal modes of a flexible spring.
3B22.11 Modes of Vibration of a Flexible String
To show the normal modes of a long string.
To show that a standing wave is a superposition of two waves traveling in opposite directions.
3B25.05 Wave Reflection and Transmission with Two Slinkies
To show a wave pulse is partially reflected and partially transmitted at a boundary between two media.
Properties of Sound
Phase and Group Velocity
To show complete transmission across boundaries by matching impedances.
To show that sound cannot travel in a vacuum.
3B33.20 Phase & Group Velocity
To demonstrate the relationship between the phase velocity and the group velocity of a wave packet.
Doppler Effect
Interference and Diffraction
To demonstrate the Doppler effect with a spinning buzzer.
To show the Doppler effect.
3B45.12 Doppler Shift with Ripple Tank
To demonstrate Doppler shift with water waves.
To demonstrate that each point on a wave front can act as a wave source.
Interference and Diffraction of Sound
Beats
3B50.10 Ripple Tank Interference
To demonstrate diffraction and interference with water waves.
3B50.40 Interference Transparencies
To show the interference of two circular wave patterns.
To demonstrate interference of sound waves from two identical sources.
To show the beats created by summing two slightly different frequencies.
Sympathetic Vibrations of Coupled Oscillators
3B70.10 Sympathetic Vibrations
To demonstrate sympathetic vibrations.
Acoustics
Wave analysis and synthesis
To construct a compound wave from up to nine harmonic components.
3C50.55 Acoustic Harmonics FFT
To deconstruct a sound sample into a sum of cosine and sine waves of variable frequencies.
Instruments
Resonance in Strings
Resonance Cavities
3D20.10 Differential Sonometer
To demonstrate the properties of standing waves in a stretched wire.
To demonstrate a resonance cavity.
To demonstrate standing wave resonances in an open tube.
To demonstrate standing waves in an air column.
Resonance in Plates, Bars and Solids
To demonstrate standing sound waves in an air column excited by convection currents.
To illustrate longitudinal standing waves in an aluminum rod.
To show two-dimensional standing waves on the surface of a vibrating plate.
To show the resonance of a clay bowl.
Tuning Forks
3D40.55 Breaking Glass with Sound
To show that a glass driven hard at its resonant frequency will shatter.
To demonstrate the resonant frequencies of various tuning forks.
To show sustained oscillation without damping.