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At
the Air Reed exhibit, viewers watch
a flute play a single note while a strobe light flashes
on a nearby screen, creating the flute's shadow. Near
the shadow of the flute, another shadow can be observed:
that of the air stream tumbling into and out of the
flute's orifice. A Schlieren projection system driven
by the strobe creates this shadow picture of air oscillating
in and out of the flute. The visitor can adjust the
strobe flash frequency, and when it matches that of
the flute's sound exactly, the shadow of the air motion
appears to stand still. As the frequency of the strobe
is varied from this frequency, the rhythmic air motion
appears to speed up. Visitors can also put their fingers
into or near the flute orifice and see the shadow of
their fingers and its effect on the air flow at the
same time that they hear the effect of their fingers
on the sound.
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