Abstract
THE following modification of Chladni's method makes an interesting lecture experiment, and shows the nodal lines of a bell far more sharply and easily than any process already described of which I am aware. For the bell, use a cylindrical glass crystallising pan (say nine or ten inches diameter and four to six inches deep, but almost any size will do), and stand it, rim upwards, on three india-rubber corks. Some light-coloured powder, such as flowers of sulphur, is mixed with soapy water and smeared over the concave surface. The mixture should be quite watery, and can be applied by pouring a little into the bell, which is then tilted as much as possible and rotated round its axis. With one hand inside the bell, press it down firmly on the corks, and excite the rim with a bow. It is best to make double contact with the bow at two opposite points on the rim, and a succession of rapid strokes will produce strong vibrations, the powder meanwhile shooting upwards in arch-like curves, till it collects in four or six distinct vertical lines, easily visible at a distance if held against something black. Using a smaller vessel, smeared only half-way round, no doubt the whole process could be optically projected.
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OSBORN, G. A Lecture Experiment on the Nodes of a Bell. Nature 53, 223 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/053223d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/053223d0
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