Ch. 13 Sound
Harmonics Fundamental frequency – lowest possible frequency of a standing wave Harmonics are multiples of the fundamental frequency
Standing Waves on a Vibrating String
A violin string that is 75 cm long has a fundamental frequency of 440 Hz. What is the speed of the waves on this string?
Standing Waves in Air Columns 2 types If both ends of a pipe are open, then all harmonics are present
If one end of a pipe is closed, only odd harmonics are present
What are the first three harmonics in a 2 What are the first three harmonics in a 2.45 m long pipe that is closed at one end? Assume the speed of sound in air is 345 m/s.
Harmonics account for sound quality, or timbre Timbre (‘tam-ber’)- the mixture of harmonics that produces the characteristic sound of an instrument
Fundamental frequency determines the pitch The other harmonics are referred to as overtones Beats Sound waves at slightly different frequencies produce beats The number of beats per second corresponds to the difference between frequencies