Some designs of simple wave demonstration devices have been described in this journal and elsewhere.1–5 A new simple model can be built using only dowels, binder clips, and loops of thread. Not only can it be easily assembled, stored, or disassembled, but also all the students in a class can cooperate in its building by connecting successive pieces (units), which make the apparatus as long as desired.
REFERENCES
1.
Marc D. Levenson “Wave motion demonstrator,” in A Potpourri of Physics Teaching Ideas, edited by Donna A. Berry (American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD, 1987), pp. 222–223.
2.
Ron D. Edge, String and Sticky Tape Experiments (American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD, 1987), p. 5.02.
3.
Glen T.
Clayton
, Harry D.
Downing
, and Thomas O.
Callaway
, “Wave demonstration device
,” Am. J. Phys.
49
, 375
(April 1981
).4.
David
Wuchinich
, “A simple constructed model for demonstrating wave propagation
,” Am. J. Phys.
37
, 104
–105
(Jan. 1969
).5.
Flinn Scientific Inc. (http://www.flinnsci.com) sells a cheap and simple kit (Cat.No. AP4618), similar to the Kelvin wave apparatus described in Richard M. Sutton, Demonstration Experiments in Physics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1938), p. 140.
6.
This apparatus can be bought from several suppliers such as PASCO (http://www.pasco.com), Cat. No. SE-9600 and SE-9601. Nice examples of the use of a Shive machine (or Bell machine) in the teaching of the properties of waves are shown in the elementary textbook by Paul Avanzi, Alain Kespy, Jacques Pierret-Gentil, and Daniel Pfistner, Physique, Chimie. Sciences Experimentales (Editions L.E.P. Loisirs et Pedagogie, Lausanne, 2001), pp. 567–572.
7.
I acknowledge the anonymous reviewer who suggested the use of dowels, instead of my initial proposal (for the sake of simplicity) of chopsticks. His idea was that, besides their bigger moment of inertia, dowels have the advantage that segments of different lengths can easily be built and connected together.
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© 2006 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2006
American Association of Physics Teachers
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