CHAPTER 14 - Vibrations of Strings and Rods

Abstract

This chapter describes vibrations and other related properties of strings and rods. If a rope is held horizontally between two points and given a vertical displacement momentarily at any point of its length, a ripple or wave travels along it. This type of wave is called as transverse wave. Sonometer or monochord is used for the investigation of the laws governing the vibrations of stretched wires. Rods rather than stretched wires are more convenient to use in studying longitudinal vibrations in solids, and if a rod is clamped at its mid-point and stroked along its length with a resined cloth, then, it is possible to set up a stationary longitudinal wave in the rod with antinodes at the free ends, clamped center of the rod being a node. Kundt's tube is a piece of apparatus, named after its designer, which may be used to measure the velocity of sound in rods of different material, or the velocity of sound in air or any other gas. It may, thus, be used to determine Young's modulus for the material of a rod to find the ratio of specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume for a gas.