PASCO WA-9607 Chladni Plates Kit - Manual

better
teach science
ways to
Phone (916) 786-3800 • FAX (916) 786-8905 • email: [email protected]
10101 Foothills Blvd. • P.O. Box 619011 • Roseville, CA 95678-9011 USA
®
Instruction Sheet
for the PASCO
Model WA-9607
Chladni Plates Kit
012-03283D
10/95
$1.00
Introduction
A string vibrating at a resonant frequency develops a
standing wave pattern consisting of regularly spaced
nodes (points on the string that do not vibrate) and
antinodes (points where the amplitude of vibration is a
maximum). More interesting standing wave patterns are
created with vibrations in media that support wave
propagation in two dimensions, such as a metal plate or a
drum head.
In the early nineteenth century, Ernst Chladni (pro-
nounced Klädne) developed a technique for investigating
two dimensional wave patterns. Sand is sprinkled onto a
plate, and a violin bow is used to vibrate the plate. The
sand comes to rest on the nodal lines, where no vibration
occurs. Sand that is not resting on a nodal line gets
bounced around until it finally lands on a nodal line and
comes to rest.
When used with the PASCO Model WA-9753 Wave
Driver II or SF-9324 Mechanical Wave Driver, the
Chladni Plates Kit improves on Chladni's original
method, allowing you to produce steady plate vibra-
tions at any desired frequency. The illustrations at the
top of the page show examples of the nodal patterns
that can be created.
Equipment
The Model WA-9607 Chladni Plates Kit includes:
• Square Chladni Plate (24 cm sides)
• Circular Chladni Plate (24 cm diameter)
• Sand, extra fine (1 kg)
• Sand Shaker
Banana plug
fits in drive shaft
Sand
Sand
Shaker
Typical Pattern
Square Chladni Plate
Typical Pattern
Circular Chladni Plate
Wave Driver
(not included)
Important for SF-9324:
Push to Lock position when not in
use or when changing plates.
Sand along typical
nodal lines of standing
wave pattern