Sound and Light

Physical Science watched a good introductory video on light and color and debriefed the film's information. Tomorrow, we will take time to discuss further the electromagnetic spectrum and begin to work our way into the behavior of light. We will spend time with reflection, refraction, total internal reflection, diffraction, dispersion and interference. Lab work will specifically tackle reflection and refraction, with the others being demonstrated in class.

Physics and Honors Physics delved deeper into the concept of sound today. Physics discussed Friday's speed of sound lab and began to explore specifics about the longitudinal, mechanical wave we call sound. Honors Physics ran through the Doppler effect, forced vibrations and resonance. Tomorrow's lab will allow students to compare pure tones and overtones and examine how a touch-tone phone dialer functions to use sound to signal phone numbers. As we move into the music zone, remember that our overview will, by necessity, be very cursory and simplified. Music acoustics (the sound of music - no pun intended) is a field of its own and students are encouraged to independently research the function of music instruments, the generation of sound by acoustic and electronic instruments and the role of standing wave production in sound and music. Here are a couple of videos illustrating the power of resonance:





Herre's an interesting video about a violin maker: