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FYI, the doohickey Jane refers to below (howdy n hi, yourself, Jane!) is
available from Flinn Scientific - they call it the "singing tube", and
you can get 1 or a set of 3 of differing lengths. Pretty sweet, and easy
to use with a small propane blowtorch from your friendly hardware store.
I suspect harder to engineer the much bigger tube with a row of holes
drilled into it. To this tube, you put a membrane + speaker on one end,
connect the other to a bbq-style propane tank, turn it on and light up a
row of flames out of the holes. Then, different pitches form visible
sine waves of fire. Google "Ruben Tube" and you'll find plenty of videos
of this on YouTube.
I fear that variables like tube length + diameter + material, plus size
of/distance between the holes will have to be precise, dagnabit.
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
The Children's Museum
"If you hear only one song this year, there's something terribly wrong
with you."
-They Might Be Giants
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jane Snell Copes
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 3:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A Song of Fire
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****
There's not much to it: a piece of schedule 40 pipe, a way to hold
it over a flame (ring stand with a heavy base and a clamp that can
get hot), and the flame. You can also use a piece of 4" stove pipe.
If you have a copy of Let's Try It, it's called the Hoot Tube. I've
seen them made with bits of screen wire poked in the lower end, but I
don't believe it's necessary. I used to work in the
high-temperature furnace field, and the "acoustic load" on
large-diameter, heated ceramic tubes is quite large--they can tear
themselves apart with the heat-induced vibrations.
We tried touring it with the Traveling Experiment Gallery (hi Jonah)
using a propane torch, but it was hard to ship the propane cylinder
and it seemed a bit hazardous with the general public. Cheers from
frozen Minnesota, Jane
>I'm looking into some demos on sound, and unsurprisingly was intrigued
>by the Ruben's Tube, a contraption hat displays sound waves using fire,
>as seen in this video:
>
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR8rZMKlIq4
>
>A quick google check reveals many similar videos, but little info. Does
>anyone have any schematics for building one, tips for usage/safety/how
>it works? We're hoping to build a version portable enough for outreach.
>
>Thanks.
>Jonah Cohen
>Outreach & Public Programs Manager
>The Children's Museum
>
>"On blind faith they place reliance,
>what we need more of is science"
>
> -MC Hawking
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