Sound + Fire = Rubens' Tube

2011-04-12

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Sound waves in a tube of gas create flames of different heights that dance to the music. A metal tube with holes in it is filled with gas. The gas is lit to create a row of tiny flames. A speaker at one end plays sound into the tube, which creates a standing wave of sound: areas where air molecules are vibrating rapidly separated by areas where the air is fairly still. This produces the different heights of flames and allows the wavelength of the sound wave to be estimated.