Demonstration experiments, videos and audios for teaching acoustics

Since the time of Pythagorus, if not before, experiments have been used by physics teachers to illustrate acoustic phenomena and important acoustic principles. We owe much to Michael Faraday who established a rich tradition of lecture demonstrations at the Royal Institution in London. Lord Rayleigh, in addition to his well‐known papers on the theory of sound, published a number of short notes which he entitled ‘‘Acoustical Observations.’’ A potpourri of acoustics experiments will be demonstrated by a team of college and high school teachers with instructions for doing these experiments with simple equipment. Reproduction of these demonstrations may be useful in a formal educational setting for teaching acoustics, and should be useful also in any number of informal venues—including ones not always thought of as ‘‘teaching.’’ Videos and audios demonstrating acoustics also will be previewed.