Published In
American Journal of Physics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2019
Subjects
Fourier transformations, Acoustics, Physics -- Experiments, Computational modeling, Physics -- Study and teaching (Higher)
Abstract
The phenomenon of the singing wineglass is familiar to many. Most people have run a finger along the rim of a wine glass with the right speed and pressure to get it to whistle a tone or perhaps heard a glass harmonica being played. However, have you ever noticed and wondered why the vibrations caused by a finger on a glass produce a pulsating sound, rather than a steady, constant-amplitude vibration? Further exploration reveals that the sound and pulsations of a wine glass vary depending on the way the wine glass is stimulated. In this paper, we investigate and model the characteristic sounds produced by three different cases: the pulsating sound exhibited by a finger run along the rim of a wine glass, the steady tone produced by a stationary finger on a rotating wine glass, and the decaying pulsations exhibited by a struck rotating wine glass. Analyzing the qualitative differences among these three cases provides opportunities for students to hone experimental, modeling, and data analysis skills in an intermediate level undergraduate experimental physics course.
DOI
10.1119/1.5124230
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30433
Citation Details
Leatherman, R., Dunlap, J. C., & Widenhorn, R. (2019). The Fourier spectrum of a singing wine glass. American Journal of Physics, 87(10), 829-835.
Description
© 2019 American Association of Physics Teachers
Originally appeared in the American Journal of Physics, vol. 87, no. 829 (2019), published by the American Association of Physics Teachers. May be found at https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5124230.