Waves and ripples in water, air, and æther : $b Being a course of Christmas lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great BritainFleming, J. A. (John Ambrose), Sir
Science
Waves and ripples in water, air, and æther : $b Being a course of Christmas lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain
Fleming, J. A. (John Ambrose), Sir
Electric waves; Sound; Waves
We can confirm by experiments the statements made as to the condition
of the air in a sounding organ-pipe. Here is a pipe with three little
holes bored in it at the top, middle, and bottom (see Fig. 59). Each of
these is covered with a thin indiarubber membrane, and this, again, by
a little box which has a gas-pipe leading to it and a gas-jet connected
with it. If we lead gas into the box and light the jet, we have a
little flame, as you see. If, then, the indiarubber membrane is pressed
in and out, it will cause the gas-flame to flicker. Such an arrangement
is called a _manometric flame_, because it serves to detect or measure
changes of pressure in the pipe. The flicker of the flame when the
organ-pipe is sounded is, however, so rapid that we cannot follow it
unless we look at the image in a cubical revolving mirror of the kind
already used. When so regarded, if the flame is steady, we see a broad
band of light.
If we sound the organ-pipe gently and look at the bands of light
corresponding to the three flames, we see that the flames at the top
and bottom of the pipe are nearly steady, but that the one at the
middle of the pipe is flickering rapidly, the band of light being
changed to a saw-tooth-like form (see Fig. 60).
This shows us that rapid changes of pressure are taking place at the
centre of the pipe.
Again, if we prepare a little tambourine (by stretching parchment-paper
over a wooden ring), and lower it by a string into the sounding
organ-pipe, we shall find that grains of sand scattered over this
tambourine jump about rapidly when the membrane is held near the top or
the bottom of the pipe, but are quiescent when it is at the middle.
[Illustration: FIG. 60.]
This shows us that there is violent movement of the air at the ends,
but not in the centre, thus confirming the deductions of theory.
It should be noted that if the pipe is over-blown or sounded too
strongly, harmonics will make their appearance, and the simple state of
affairs will no longer exist.
The celebrated mathematician, Daniel Bernoulli, discovered that an
organ-pipe can be made to yield a succession of musical notes by
properly varying the pressure of the current of air blown into it.
If the pipe is an open one, then, if we call the frequency of the
primary note 1, obtained when the pipe is gently blown, if we blow
more strongly, the pipe yields notes which are the harmonics of the
fundamental one, that is to say, have frequencies represented by 2, 3,
4, 5, etc., as the blast of air increases in force.
Thus, if the pipe is one about 2 feet in length, it will yield a note
near to the middle C on a piano. If more strongly blown, it gives
a note, C^1, an octave higher, having double the frequency. If more
strongly blown still, it yields a note which is the fifth, G^1, above
the last, and has three times the frequency of the primary tone; and so
on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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