Ruben's Tube
Ruben's Tube

 

Code Number: 3D30.50

Demo Title: Ruben's Tube

Condition: Excellent

Principle: Resonance in Pipes, Standing Waves in a Tube

Area of Study: Oscillations & Acoustics

Equipment: 

Ruben's Tube, Wave Generator, and Grill Lighter.

Procedure:

Connect the Ruben's tube to the gas supply and light along the outlet holes when the gas is turned on.  Adjust the gas flow so that the flames are about 1/2 inch high.  Turn on the wave generator and adjust the frequency to the resonant frequencies of the tube (these are written on the tube itself).  Up to 8 wavelengths can be easily seen.

References:

  • James Lincoln, "The Lincoln's Tube: A New Apparatus for Demonstrating Sound Standing Waves", TPT, Vol. 58, #1, Jan. 2020, p. 74.
  • Cameron T. Vongsawad, Mark L. Berardi, Tracianne B. Neilsen, Kent L. Gee, Jennifer K. Whiting, and M. Jeannette Lawler, "Acoustics for the Deaf: Can You See Me Now?", TPT, Vol. 54, #6, Sept. 2016, p. 369.
  • George W. Ficken and Francis C. Stephenson, "Rubens Flame-Tube Demonstration", TPT, Vol. 17, #5, May 1979, p. 306.
  • Robert P. Bauman and Dennis Moore, "More on Dancing Flames", TPT, Vol. 15, #7, Oct. 1977, p. 389, 448.
  • Thomas D. Rossing, "Average Pressure in Standing Waves", TPT, Vol. 15, #5, May 1977, p. 260.
  • Harold A. Daw, "The Normal Mode Structure on the Two-Dimensional Flame Table", AJP, Vol. 56, #10, Oct. 1988, p. 913.
  • Harold A. Daw, "A Two-Dimensional Flame Table", AJP, Vol. 55, #8, Aug. 1987, p. 733.
  • George F. Spagna Jr., "Comment on 'Demonstration of Longitudinal Standing Waves in a Pipe Revisted' [Am. J. Phys. 53, 1110 (1985)]", AJP, Vol. 54, #12, Dec. 1986, p. 1146.
  • George Ficken and Francis Stephenson, "Comment on the Rubens Flame Tube", AJP, Vol. 54, #4, Apr. 1986, p. 297.
  • Duan Jihui and Charles T. P. Wang, "Demonstration of Longitudinal Standing Waves in a Pipe Revisited", AJP, Vol. 53, #11, Nov. 1985, p. 1110.
  • George Spagna, "Erratum: 'Rubens Flame Tube Demonstration: A Closer Look at the Flames' [Am. J. Phys. 51, 848-850 (1983)]", AJP, Vol. 52, #1, Jan. 1984, p. 84.
  • George F. Spagna Jr., "Rubens Flame Tube Demonstration: A Closer Look at the Flames", AJP, Vol. 51, #9, Sept. 1983, p. 848.
  • D. Rae Carpenter Jr. and Richard B. Minnix, "W-225. Gas Flames Tube", DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook, 1993.
  • R. W. Pohl, Physical Principles of Mechanics and Acoustics, p. 250.
  • Michael D. Gardner, Kent L. Gee, Gordon Dix, "An Investigation of Rubens Flame Tube Resonances", J. Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 125, 2009, p. 1285.
  • Borislaw Bilash II and David Maiullo, "Seeing Sound", A Demo a Day: A Year of Physics Demonstrations, p. 212.
  • Julien Clinton Sprott, "3.6, Flame Pipe", Physics Demonstrations a Sourcebook for Teachers, p. 152.
  • Harvard Natural Sciences Lecture Demonstrations, "Ring of Fire", https://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/presentations/ring-fire, 05/22/19.

Harvard Natural Sciences Lecture Demonstrations: Ring of Fire

Toy parachute falling within a resonance tube
The Pyro Board