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Air Reed

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.



101"w X 50"h X 30"d
2.5 amps @ 120 volts
300 lbs.

 
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