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Most
wave motion takes place at frequencies too high to follow
easily with the eye. Dr. John N. Shive, a Bell Laboratories
scientist, developed this device to demonstrate slow-motion
transverse waves. Steel rods at close intervals are
joined by a thin torsion wire. The torsion wire transmits
energy from one rod to the next. Because of the high
moment of inertia of the rods, a disturbance takes several
seconds to travel from one end of the array to the other.
The transverse motion of the ends of the rods can clearly
show wave reflection, standing waves, resonance, partial
reflection, and impedance matching. At our exhibit a
visitor can generate waves at one end of a torsion line
with a motor-driven crank. The visitor turns a knob
to vary the motor speed, thereby changing the frequency
of the waves. A frequency meter indicates the frequency.
The visitor can also push a button to generate a single
pulse.
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