INTRODUCTION

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MECHANICAL WAVES AND ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES The world is full of waves, the two main types being mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves. Mechanical waves are characterized by the transport of energy through matter by the motion of a disturbance in that matter without any corresponding bulk motion of the matter itself. Energy can be transmitted over considerable distances by wave motion. The energy in the waves is the kinetic and potential energy of the matter. E.g.: sound waves. ` It is necessary to have a material medium to transmit mechanical waves. But electromagnetic waves do not need such a medium and energy transfer is accompanied by a movement of matter through space .eg. Light waves. The properties of the medium that determine the speed of a wave through that medium are its inertia and its elasticity. It is the elasticity that gives rise to the restoring forces on any part of the medium displaced from its equilibrium position and inertia tells how this displaced portion of the medium will respond to these restoring forces. Together these two factors determine the wave speed All mechanical waves require (1) some source of disturbance, (2) a medium that can be disturbed, and (3) some physical mechanism through which elements of the medium can influence each other. TRANSVERSE WAVES AND LONGITUDINAL WAVES There are different kinds of mechanical waves in accordance with how the motions of the particles of matter are related to the direction of propagation of the wave themselves. They are transverse waves and longitudinal waves. A traveling wave or pulse that causes the elements of the disturbed medium to move perpendicular to the direction of propagation is called a transverse wave. A traveling wave or pulse that causes the elements of the medium to move parallel to the direction of propagation is called a longitudinal wave. Sound waves are longitudinal waves. WAVE FUNCTION Consider a pulse traveling to the right on a long string, as shown in Figure .Figure (a) represents the shape and position of the pulse at time t = 0. At this time, the shape of the pulse, whatever it may be, can be represented by some mathematical function which we will write as y(x, 0) = f(x). This function describes the transverse position y of the element of the string located at each value of x at time t = 0. Because the speed of the pulse is v, the pulse has traveled to the right a distance vt at the time t(Fig. b). We assume that the shape of the pulse does not change with time. Thus, at time t, the shape of the pulse is the same as it was at time t = 0, as in Figure (a).

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Consequently, an element of the string at x at this time has the same y position as an element located at x - vt had at time t = 0:

Y ( x, t) = y( x - vt, 0)
In general, then, we can represent the transverse position y for all positions and times, measured in a stationary frame with the origin at O, as

Y ( x, t) = f ( x

vt)

(1)

Similarly, if the pulse travels to the left, the transverse positions of elements of the string are described by

Y ( x, t) = f ( x + vt)

(2)

The function y, is called the wave function, depends on the two variables x and t. Any one-dimensional wave traveling with a speed v in the x direction can be represented by a wave function of the form

The wave function y(x, t) represents the y coordinate the transverse position of any element located at position x at any time t. If it is xed then the wave function y(x), sometimes called the waveform, de nes a curve representing the actual geometric shape of the pulse at that time. THE WAVE EQUATION The wave functions y(x, t) represent solution of a differential equation called the linear wave equation. This equation gives a complete description of the wave motion, and from it one can derive an expression for the wave speed. Also the linear wave equation is basic to many forms of wave motion. It relates the second derivative of wave function with respect to x to the second derivative with respect to t .An important special kind of wave function is a sine or cosine function such as -3-

y ( x, t)

= y0 sin k ( x- vt)

Where k is called the wave number and y is the amplitude. This function can also be written

Y ( x, t)= y0 sin( kx- kvt)= y 0 sin ( kx- wt) is a particular solution for harmonic waves. =k v is the angular frequency .
The derivative with respect to x holding t constant is

= k y0 cos ( kx

kvt)

Similarly the second derivative with respect to x is

= -k 2 y0 sin( kx - kvt)= -k2 y ( x, t)

The derivative of y(x,t)with respect to t holding x constant is

eqn(3)

= -k v y0 cos ( kx - kvt)

= -k 2 v2 y 0 sin ( kx kvt )= -k 2 v2 y ( x, t)
Combining equations(3) and (4) we obtain

eqn(4)

This is the wave equation. If y is the displacement of a vibrating string this equation describes string waves. If we interpret y as the increase or decrease in the pressure or density of a gas this equation describes a sound waves. The same equation also describes electromagnetic waves in which y is the electric or magnetic field.

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SOUND WAVES

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Sound waves are the most important example of longitudinal waves. They can travel through any material medium with a speed that depends on the properties of the medium. As the waves travel, the particles in the medium vibrate to produce changes in density and pressure along the direction of motion of the wave. These changes result in a series of high-pressure and low-pressure regions. If the source of the sound waves vibrates sinusoidally, the pressure variations are also sinusoidal. Sound waves are divided into three categories that cover different frequency ranges. (1)Audible waves are waves that lie within the range of sensitivity of the human ear. They can be generated in a variety of ways, such as by musical instruments, human vocal cords, and loudspeakers. (2) Infrasonic waves are waves having frequencies below the audible range. Elephants can use infrasonic waves to communicate with each other, even when separated by many kilometers. (3) Ultrasonic waves are waves having frequencies above the audible range. The ultrasonic sound it emits is easily heard by dogs, although humans cannot detect it at all. Ultrasonic waves are also used in medical imaging. PERIODIC SOUND WAVES One can produce a one-dimensional periodic sound wave in a long, narrow tube containing a gas by means of an oscillating piston at one end. A compressed region is formed whenever the piston is pushed into the tube. This compressed region, called a compression, moves through the tube as a pulse, continuously compressing the region just in front of itself. When the piston is pulled back, the gas in front of it expands, and the pressure and density in this region fall below their equilibrium values . These low pressure regions, called rarefactions, also propagate along the tube, following the compressions. Both regions move with a speed equal to the speed of sound in the medium.

As the piston oscillates sinusoidally, regions of compression and rarefaction are continuously set up. The distance between two successive compressions (or two successive rarefactions) equals the wavelength .

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SPEED OF SOUND WAVES The speed of sound waves in a medium depends on the compressibility and density of the medium. If the medium is a liquid or a gas and has a bulk modulus B and density The speed of sound waves in that medium is

The speed of transverse waves on a string . In both cases, the wave speed depends on an elastic property of the medium bulk modulus B or string tension T and on an inertial property of the medium or . The speed of all mechanical waves follows an expression of the general form

For longitudinal sound waves in a solid rod of material, for example, the speed of sound depends on Young s modulus Y and the density

There is a simple relation between the frequency f, the wavelength

and the velocity v .The

of a harmonic wave. Consider for example vibrating the end of a string with frequency f for a time t. In this time the number of waves generated is N = ft. The first wave generated travels a distance ratio of this distance to the number of waves in this distance is the wavelength . Thus

/N = v =

/ ft = v / f f

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NEWTON S FORMULA

Newton assumed that when sound wave is propagated through a gaseous medium, the change in pressure and volume of the gas due to condensation and rarefaction does not produce a change in temperature .The bulk modulus of the gas under isothermal change is equal to the pressure exerted by the gas. Hence V= At S.T.P for air P=1.1013105 N/m2 280m/s The experimental value of the velocity of sound in air at S.T.P is about 332m/s. This shows that the result obtained by Newton s formula is 16% lower than the accepted experimental value. LAPLACE S CORRECTION The reason for the inaccuracy lies in the assumption of a constant temperature for the compression and rarefactions of the gas. Since the compression of a gas tends to increase and rarefaction to decrease the temperature, these processes can be isothermal only if sufficient heat is conducted away during the compression and back during rarefaction. Air and other gases are poor heat conductors . The discrepancy in the Newton s formula was explained by Laplace. Laplace assumed that the condensations and rarefactions are taking place so quickly that there is no chance for the medium to exchange the heat with the surrounding. So the temperature of the gas changes. Hence the change of pressure and volume of the gas is an adiabatic change. The bulk modulus B of the medium is the adiabatic elasticity .Taking this in to consideration ,the Newton s equation is modified as =1.293 kg /m-3

Where p/Cv, the ratio of the specific heats of the gas. The equation is called Newton-Laplace equation. For air Hence velocity of sound at S.T.P is calculated as

=331.5 m/s
This result agrees remarkably with the experimental result.

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FACTORS AFFECTING THE VELOCITY OF SOUND IN AIR Velocity of sound in gas is given by Newton-Laplace equation

At constant temperature P/ is constant. Hence v is independent of pressure changes provided the temperature remains constant. Effect of temperature The formula for velocity of sound in a gas is

But

=M/V, where M is the mass of a gas occupying the volume V

But PV=RT,

Where M is the mass of 1 mole the gas and R is the universal gas constant.

.
The velocity of sound in a gas is directly proportional to the square root of temperature in Kelvin scale. If

v0 is the velocity of sound in a gas at 0 v0 / vt

and vt the velocity at t

then

vt= v0
Velocity of sound in air at 0 Velocity of sound in air at 1

=331.3m/s = v0 = 331.3 =331.9 m/s

Increase in velocity at any temperature t In general velocity at any temperature t vt =( v0+0.6 t) m/s

rise of temperature =331.7- 331.3 = 0.6 m/s is given by

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Effect of Humidity

The humidity in air depends upon the water vapor present in the atmosphere. The density of water vapor is less than the density of dry air. Since the density of moist air is less than that for dry air, sound travel faster in moist air than in dry air. STANDING WAVES The sound waves from the two speakers in following example emit sound waves of same frequency and amplitude towards each other. When they overlap, identical waves travelling in opposite directions will combine to form standing waves.

In this situation two identical waves travel in opposite directions in the same medium. These waves combine in accordance with the superposition principle. Analyzing such a situation by considering wave functions for two transverse sinusoidal waves having the same amplitude, frequency, and wavelength but traveling in opposite directions in the same medium:

where y1 represents a wave traveling to the right and y2 represents one traveling to the left. Adding these two functions gives the resultant wave function y:

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which is the wave function of a standing wave. A standing wave, such as the one shown in Figure is an oscillation pattern with a stationary outline that results from the superposition of two identical waves traveling in opposite directions. The Equation does not contain a function kx  Thus, it is not an expression for a traveling wave. If we observe a standing wave, we have no sense of motion in the direction of propagation of either of the original waves. Equation describes a special kind of simple harmonic motion. Every particle of the medium oscillates in simple harmonic motion with the same frequency . However, the amplitude of the simple harmonic motion of a given particle given by the factor 2A sin kx, depends on the location x of the particle in the medium. A given particle in a standing wave vibrates within the constraints of the envelope function 2A sin kx, where x is the particle s position in the medium. This is in contrast to the situation in a traveling sinusoidal wave, in which all particles oscillate with the same amplitude and the same frequency and in which the amplitude of the wave is the same as the amplitude of the simple harmonic motion of the particles. The maximum displacement of a particle of the medium has a minimum value of zero when x satis es the condition sin that is, when kx = 0, that is when

These points of zero displacement are called nodes. The particle with the greatest possible displacement from equilibrium has an Amplitude of 2A, and we de ne this as the - 11 -

amplitude of the standing wave. The positions in the medium at which this maximum displacement occurs are called antinodes. The antinodes are located at positions for which the coordinate x satis es

the condition sin that is, when kx =+1 or -1 Thus, the positions of the antinodes are given by

RESONANCE If a periodic force is applied to a system, which is capable of oscillating in one or more normal modes of oscillation the amplitude of the resulting motion is greatest when the frequency of the applied force is equal to one of the natural frequencies of the system. This phenomenon, known as resonance. Although a block spring system or a simple pendulum has only one natural frequency, standing-wave systems have a whole set of natural frequencies, . Because an oscillating system exhibits a large amplitude when driven at any of its natural frequencies, these frequencies are often referred to as resonance frequencies. STANDING WAVES IN AIR COLUMNS Standing waves can be set up in a tube of air, such as that inside an organ pipe, as the result of interference between longitudinal sound waves traveling in opposite directions. The phase relationship between the incident wave and the wave re ected from one end of the pipe depends on whether that end is open or closed. In a pipe closed at one end, the closed end is a displacement node because the wall at this end does not allow longitudinal motion of the air . As a result, at a closed end of a pipe, the re ected sound wave is 180 out of phase with the incident wave. Because the pressure wave is 90 out of phase with the displacement wave the closed end of an air column corresponds to a pressure antinode (that is, a point of maximum pressure variation).The open end of an air column is approximately a displacement antinode and a pressure node. No pressure variation occurs at an open end because the end of the air column is open to the atmosphere; thus, the pressure at this end must remain constant at atmospheric pressure. A sound wave can re ect from an open end, inspite of there is no change in the medium The medium through which the sound wave moves is air both inside and outside the pipe. However, sound is a pressure wave, and a compression region of the sound wave is constrained by the sides of - 12 -

the pipe as long as the region is inside the pipe. As the compression region exits at the open end of the pipe, the constraint of the pipe is removed and the compressed air is free to expand into the atmosphere. Thus, there is a change in the character of the medium between the inside of the pipe and the outside even though there is no change in the material of the medium. This change in character is sufficient to allow some re ection. The rst three normal modes of oscillation of a pipe open at both ends are shown in Figure (a). When air is directed against an edge at the left, longitudinal standing waves are formed, and the pipe resonates at its natural frequencies. All normal modes are excited simultaneously (although not with the same amplitude). Both ends are displacement antinodes (approximately). In the rst normal mode, the standing wave extends between two adjacent antinodes, which is a distance of half a wavelength. Thus, the wavelength is twice the length of the pipe, and the fundamental frequency

As Figure (a )shows, the frequencies of the higher harmonics are 2f1 , 3f1 .Thus in a pipe open at both ends, the natural frequencies of oscillation form a harmonic series that includes all integral multiples of the fundamental frequency.

Because all harmonics are present we can express the natural frequencies of oscillation as

If a pipe is closed at one end and open at the other, the closed end is a displacement node (figb). In this case, the standing wave for the fundamental mode extends from an antinode to the adjacent node, which is one fourth of a wavelength. Hence, the wavelength for the rst normal mode is 4L, and the fundamental frequency is As Figure (b) shows, the higher frequency waves that satisfy our conditions are those that have a node at the closed end and an antinode at the open end; this means that the higher harmonics have frequencies 3f1 , 5f1 ,...:

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In a pipe closed at one end and open at the other, the natural frequencies of oscillation form a harmonic series that includes only odd integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.

In a pipe closed at one end and open at the other, the natural frequencies of oscillation form a harmonic series that includes only odd integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. We express this result mathematically as

STANDING WAVES IN RODS Standing waves can also be set up in rods and membranes. A rod clamped in the middle and stroked parallel to the rod at one end oscillates, as depicted in Figure (a).The oscillations of the elements of the rod are longitudinal, and so the broken lines in Figure represent longitudinal displacements of various parts of the rod. For clarity, it is drawn in the transverse direction. The midpoint is a displacement node because it is xed by the clamp, whereas the ends are displacement antinodes because they are free to oscillate. The oscillations in this setup are analogous to those in a pipe open at both ends. The broken lines in Figure (a)represent the rst normal mode, for which the wavelength is 2L and the frequency is f= v/2L, where v is the speed of longitudinal waves in the rod.

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Other normal modes may be excited by clamping the rod at different points. For example, the second normal mode (Fig.b) is excited by clamping the rod a distance L/4 away from one end.

Musical instruments that depend on standing waves in rods include triangles, marimbas, xylophones, glockenspiels, chimes, and vibraphones. Other devices that make sounds from bars include music boxes and wind chimes.

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KUNDT S TUBE

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Kundt's tube is an experimental acoustical apparatus invented in 1866 by German physicist August Kundt for the measurement of the speed of sound in a gas or a solid rod. It is used today only for demonstrating standing waves and acoustical forces. Sound travels in solids, liquids and gases. Their velocity is maximum in solids and least in gases. The sound is allowed to travel at solid and gas, particularly in a metal rod and an air column. By that, frequency and the speed of the sound can be obtained. This method is called the Kundt s tube method. A diagram of the Kundt s tube is shown.

The tube is a transparent horizontal pipe which contains a small amount of a fine powder such as cork dust, talc or lycopodium. At one end of the tube is a source of sound at a single frequency (a pure tone). Kundt used a metal rod resonator that he caused to vibrate or 'ring' by rubbing it, but for our demonstrations for velocityof sound in air, a loudspeaker attached to a signal generator is used to produce a sine wave. The other end of the tube is blocked by a moveable piston which can be used to adjust the length of the tube. The metal rod is used to study the propagation of sound in the metal medium The sound generator is turned on and the piston is adjusted until the sound from the tube suddenly gets much louder. This indicates that the tube is at resonance, this means its length is a multiple of the wavelength of the sound wave. At this point the sound waves in the tube are in the form of standing waves, and the amplitude of vibrations of air are zero at equally spaced intervals along the tube, called the nodes. The powder is caught up in the moving air and settles in little piles or lines at these nodes, because the air is still and quiet there. The distance between the piles is one half wavelength /2 of the sound. By measuring the distance between the piles, the wavelength of the sound in air can be found. If the frequency f of the sound is known, multiplying it by the wavelength gives the speed of sound c in air: V = f

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VELOCITY OF SOUND WAVES IN METAL USING KUNDT S TUBE The tube is mounted in a certain wooden frame so that it can be adjusted longitudinally with respect to the frame. A metal rod is clamped to the support frame, exactly at the center of the rod. The rod is clamped at the center to produce a fundamental mode of vibration. This rod has a disk at its one end. That is inserted into the glass tube but it does not touch the tube. In addition, the glass tube contains some dust inside which is distributed evenly in the entire length of the tube. While the rod is stroked lengthwise with a cloth, longitudinal standing waves are observed to be formed from the dust inside. Those waves are set up in it with a minimum vibration (node) at the clamped part (at the center) and maximum vibration (antinode) at each end. Since the distance between two consecutive nodes or antinodes in a standing wave is exactly half of its wavelength, then, the wavelength of the tone in the rod is twice the length of the rod. The sound waves are produced in the metal rod as the powder in the cloth is being displaced as if its molecules are vibrating successively. The frequency of the vibrations in a given metal rod depends on the length of the rod and the position of the clamp. The vibrations are transmitted to the disk, which in turn transmits them into the air column at the same or equal frequency. The wavelength and velocity change as the wave chain goes from one medium to another, but the frequency is still consistent. As the longitudinal waves leave the rod at the end containing the disk, it will now proceed inside the tube. These waves act as a close pipe. In that particular scenario the wave is reflected on the close end of the tube so that the air in the tube is acted upon by two similar sets of waves travelling in opposite directions. Consequently, if the distance between the disk and the close end is such to produce resonance, that is when the length of the tube is exactly a multiple of the half of the wavelength, the cork dust will be agitated at the antinodes positions and remain relatively still at the nodes positions as to produce standing waves. For that, the length of one dust loop is one-half of the wavelengths in the air. The sound velocity in the generator rod is expressed by

vrod = f

rod

(1)

The modes of a longitudinal vibration are determined by the type of clamping. The length of the rod thus corresponds to the double wavelength:
rod =

2Lrod

By analogy, the expression for the gas in the Kundt s tube is

vgas = f

gas

(2)

the wavelength being double the distance between the nodes of the stationary wave. - 18 -

The sound velocity in the metal rods can be determined from equations (1) and (2) in accordance with:

vrod = vgas
assuming that

rod /

gas

(3)

vgas

is known.

The velocity of a compression wave in a metal depends on the elastic properties and the density of the metal and its value in meters per second is given by

v=Y/
Where Y is the Young s modulus (coefficient of elasticity) and is the density. METHODOLOGY In this experiment we will be using the Kundt s Tube Apparatus, a meter stick, a piece of cloth, resin and powder and thermometer. A metal rod (any desired material) is clamped in such a way that its end containing the disk is inside the tube. The rod can be clamped at any distance. However, it is better to clamped it at the center to make the experiment not complicated. The Kundt s tube is closed at one end by a stopper. The wave produced in this column follows the wave behavior of the close type case. In vibrating the rod, energy comes from the friction produced by stroking cloth at the rod. To produce friction, resin is rubbed in the cloth. The waves produced inside after vibration is visibly seen through agitation of powder. All the lengths needed in this experiment is measured using the meter stick. The powder is evenly distributed throughout the tube. It is done to make the wave visible later, that is in similar shapes and sizes. The length of the tube is to be measured using a meter stick. The rod is clamped horizontally at its center. This allows to easily calculate the value of velocity of the rod. The rod has a disk at its one end inside the tube. This disk has not to touch the walls of the glass tube. It must be leave free to vibrate. After the preliminary assessment of the apparatus, proceed vibrating the rod. The resin is initially rubbed on the cloth. The resin allows the cloth to produce friction with the tube. The energy due to friction will serves as a wave. Strokes on the rod are done afterwards. It is ideal to do smooth, highpitch tone stroke in a lengthwise manner. It is important not to let the hand slip off at end of the rod. This is because, it causes both ends of the rod to vibrate transversely, and the vibrating disk may break the glass tube. While doing strokes on the rod, friction is produced between the cloth and the rod. As a result, energy or disturbance will occur in a form of longitudinal wave. The vibrations of the rod are transmitted by the disk to the air in the glass tube closed at one end. The waves set up in the air in the glass tube have the same frequency as those in the rod. Hence, a resonance will be formed and produces sound. - 19 -

The waves are reflected at the closed end of the tube and the air in the tube is thus acted upon by two similar sets of waves traveling in opposite directions. Since the length of the air column is some multiple of half wavelengths, the two oppositely traveling waves produce standing waves. The standing waves are characterized by alternate points of maximum and minimum disturbance called respectively nodes and antinodes. These waves become visible after the dust inside the tube agitated in the antinodes and remain still at the nodes. When the dust inside the tube does not form visible waves, it is advised to adjust the air column by moving it towards the tube in a minimal distance. Continual adjustment can be made until best resonance condition is achieved. This happens when dust agitated formed perfect waves which are measurable and looks exactly the same from one another. Another problem encountered in this experiment is when majority of the dust is concentrating on one side of the node. This can be due to the apparatus is not oriented horizontally. We can minimize this problem by removing some dust. Once satisfied with the visible waves formed, one may now proceed on measuring the length of the waves (wavelength). On measuring, the first dust loop nearest to the disk of the rod is neglected. It is an option to measure one, two, three or any number of waves desired. However, it is more accurate to measure many waves. From the measured distance, one is to determine the average half wavelength of the sound in air column by dividing it to the total number of loops or segments measured. In that method, error can be minimized because the uncertainty in measuring will be distributed evenly along the whole segments. For example, if we have a constant uncertainty of 0.3 cm. That is for increasing no. of segments being measured, we can see a trend of the decrease in uncertainty produced. Once done, the value of the v or the velocity of the sound in rod can now be obtained using equation (3). The temperature of the room is found to be 26.5 . using the thermometer. So vair = 331.3 + ( 0.6* 26.5 )= 347.2 m/s From the table of velocity of sound in solid in the internet, compare the obtained experimental value with the theoretical value. The percentage error gives us the numerical digit of the error done in the experiment.

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Vibration generator

Length of the metal rod (cm)

/2 measured (cm)

gas

(cm)

vrod

(m/s)

Percentage Error

Brass Steel Aluminium

94 74 90

4.5 2 2.5

9 4 5

3626.31 6423.2 6249.6

4.3% 5.2% 3%

VELOCITY OF SOUND WAVES IN AIR USING KUNDT S TUBE To find the velocity of sound in air we make use of a vibrating air column whose length can be varied by varying the length of the vibrating column we can cause the column to vibrate in resonance with a given source. The kundt s tube contains a small amount of a fine powder. At one end of the tube is a source of sound at a single frequency (a pure tone) i.e., a loudspeaker attached to a signal generator producing a sine wave. The other end of the tube is blocked by a moveable piston which can be used to adjust the length of the tube .The tube now acts a closed tube.

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The sound generator is turned on and the stopper piston is adjusted until the sound from the tube suddenly gets much louder. This indicates that the tube is at resonance, this means its length is a multiple of the wavelength of the sound wave. At this point the sound waves in the tube are in the form of standing waves, and the amplitude of vibrations of air is zero at equally spaced intervals along the tube, called the nodes. The powder is caught up in the moving air and settles in little piles or lines at these nodes, because the air is still and quiet there. The distance between the piles is one half wavelength /2 of the sound. By measuring the distance between the piles, the wavelength of the sound in air can be found. If the frequency f of the sound is known, multiplying it by the wavelength gives the speed of sound c in air:

= f

The procedure is repeated for different lengths of the air column and velocity c is found in each case using the above equation.

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According to Laplace the velocity of Sound in air is given by

Where is the ratio of the specific heat at constant pressure to that at constant volume. M is the mass of 1 mole of gas,R is the universal gas constant and T is the temperature in Kelvin For air  = 1.4 M = 29 gm/mole R = 8.31 J/mole-K T = 299.5 K ( 26.5
)

= 346.62 m/s

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Length of the air column (cm)

Frequency f (hz)

/2 measured (cm)

Wavelength (cm)

Velocity of sound in air v (m/s) 335.1 336.6 334.3 337.8 333.2 339.5 332 336

82 86 90 94 98 102 106 110

2349.92 1468.58 3251.94 1707.78 2294.76 2579.78 860.99 2063.88

7.13 11.46 5.14 9.89 7.26 6.58 19.28 8.14

14.26 22.92 10.28 19.78 14.52 13.16 38.56 16.28

Average value of velocity of sound in air = 335.56 m/s

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CONCLUSION

The study conducted successfully determines the velocity of sound in linear solids .This method can be used to find the velocity of sound in any linear solid. It also studies the phenomenon of resonance and formation of standing wave in air column (closed organ pipe). The velocity of sound in an air column can be described as either open or close type. Its significant difference is the behavior of the wave produced, particularly on the position of the nodes and antinodes. For a close type, which is applied in the experiment, a displacement antinode is seen on the open end while a displacement node is seen at the close end. The velocity of sound in an air column of this type is proportional to the frequency and twice the length of each segment. The velocity of sound in gaseous medium (air) is is verified with Laplaces formula. This agrees with the hypothesis of Laplace that propagation of sound in air is an adiabatic process.

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REFERENCES
1. R A Serway and J W JEWETT, Physics for Scientist and Engineers,6th edition, Thomson Brooks/cole(2004) 2. D Halliday and R Resnick,Physics-Part-1, 3rd edition,jhon wiley and sons(1977) 3. Paul A Tripler, Physics-volume 1,Worth Publishers(1976) 4. www.hyperphysics.com 5. www.wikipedia.com 6. www.mit.edu

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