Euler's Disk
Smooth Magnets
1 gallon glass jugs
1 gallon glass jugs
Liquid for Increasing Pitch demo
Liquid for Increasing Pitch demo
Ping Pong Balls and Paddle

 

Code Number: 3C20.60

Demo Title: Increasing Pitch - Euler's Disk, Magnets & Glass Bottles, LIGO Ring Down

Condition: Excellent

Principle: Frequency of Sound Waves

Area of Study: Oscillations &Acoustics

Equipment: 

Euler's Disk, Smooth Magnets, 1 gallon glass jugs.

Procedure:

The Euler's disk is very easy to use.  Spin the heavy disk ( rounded edge down ) on the slightly concave base.  If you listen carefully, you should hear the pitch of the spinning disk increasing as the disk slows down.

Separate the magnet by a distance of 1 inch in your hand.  Throw them in the air.  They will start bouncing together with a sound that increases in pitch as the bounce distance becomes smaller.

Gently touch the glass jugs together.  They will make a sound that increases in pitch as the bounce distance becomes smaller.

The sounds produced are also much like the LIGO ring down.

References:

  • W. L. Andersen, "Noncalculus Treatment of Steady-State Rolling of a Thin Disk on a Horizontal Surface", TPT, Vol. 45, #7, Oct. 2007, p. 430.
  • Russell Akridge, "Period and Amplitude", TPT, #8, Vol. 36, Nov. 1998, p. 507.
  • Domenico Davide Meringolo, Francesco Conidi, Alessandra Mercuri, Massimino Sposato, Riccardo Cristoforo Barberi, Giuseppe Pucci, "On the Analogy Between Spinning Disks Coming to Rest and Merging Black Holes", AJP, Vol. 93, #7, July 2025, p. 551.
  • D. Petrie, J. L. Hunt, and C. G. Gray, "Does the Euler Disk Slip During its Motion?", AJP, Vol. 70, #10, Oct. 2002, p. 1025.
  • Lorne A. Whitehead and Frank L. Curzon, "Spinning Objects on Horizontal Planes", AJP, Vol. 51, #5, May 1983, p. 449.
  • M. G. Olsson, "Coin Spinning On a Table", AJP, Vol. 40, #10, p. 1543, Oct. 1972.
  • Jearl Walker, "Delights of the "Wobbler," A Coin or a Cylinder that Precesses As It Spins", The Amateur Scientist, Oct. 1982.
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