Breadcrumb
3D30.40 - Helmholtz Resonator
![]() |
|
|
Code Number: 3D30.40
Demo Title: Helmholtz Resonator
Condition: Good
Principle: Resonance in Pipes
Area of Study: Oscillations & Acoustics
Equipment:
Brass Helmholtz Resonator, Glass Helmholtz Resonators, Sea Shell, Variable Resonator, and Homemade Resonator.
Procedure:
No preparation necessary other than occasional oiling of the variable resonator.
CAUTION: The glass resonators are very fragile!!
The Sea Shell is not a Helmholtz Resonator. The air volume of the shell will be exited at the shells resonant frequencies, of which there should be several. This shell has several resonances at frequencies below 300 Hz.
References:
- James Lincoln, "Ten Annoying Experiments to do at Dinnertime", TPT, Vol. 63, #2, Feb. 2025, p. 136.
- Mária Koval’aková, Mária Kladivová, and Zuzana Gibová, "Helmholtz Resonator in Laboratory Experiments", TPT, Vol. 58, #3, Mar. 2020, p. 179.
- Martín Monteiro, Cecilia Stari, Cecilia Cabeza, and Arturo C. Marti, "A Bottle of Tea as a Universal Helmholtz Resonator", TPT, Vol. 56, #9, Dec. 2018, p. 644.
- Martín Monteiro, Arturo C. Marti, Patrik Vogt, Lutz Kasper, and Dominik Quarthal, "Measuring the Acoustic Response of Helmholtz Resonators", TPT, Vol. 53, #4, Apr. 2015, p. 247.
- Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., "Apparatus Named After Our Academic Ancestors, III", TPT, Vol. 52, #6, Sept. 2014, p. 360.
- Mohamed El Abed, "Subwavelength Focalization of Acoustic Waves Using Time Reversal. Yes We Can!", TPT, Vol. 52, #4, Apr. 2014, p. 232.
- Paul Gluck, Sarit Ben-Sultan, and Tamar Dinur, "Resonance in Flasks and Pipes", TPT, Vol. 44, #1, Jan. 2006, p. 10.
- Mark P. Silverman, Elizabeth R. Worthy, "Musical Mastery of a Coke Bottle: Physical Modeling by Analogy", TPT, Vol. 36, # 2, Feb. 1998, p. 70.
- Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., "Experiments with Helmholtz Resonators", TPT, Vol. 34, #4, Apr. 1996, p. 228.
- Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., "The Acoustical Apparatus of Rudolph Koenig", TPT, Vol. 30, #9, Dec. 1992, p. 518.
- H. Richard Crane, "Body Volume Measured by Sound Waves", TPT, Vol. 25, #7, Oct. 1987, p. 454.
- T. S. Natarajan, V. S. Murthy, S. Srinivasan, and S. Radhakrishna, "A Learning Aid in Electronics", TPT, Vol. 23, #1, Jan. 1985, p. 51.
- Paul E. Wack, "A Variable-Volume Helmholtz Resonator", TPT, Vol. 23, #1, Jan. 1985, p. 49.
- Roger P. Blickensderfer, "The Helmholtz Resonator and Log-Log Plots", TPT, Vol. 21, #2, Feb. 1983, p. 111.
- Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr., "Helmholtz Resonators", AJP, Vol. 92, #11, Nov. 2024, p. 858.
- Michael J. Moloney, "Quality Factors and Conductances in Helmholtz Resonators", AJP, Vol. 72, #8, Aug. 2004, p. 1035.
- Bruce Denardo and Miguel Bernard, "Design and Measurements of Variably Nonuniform Acoustic Resonators", AJP, Vol. 64, #6, June 1996, p. 745.
- Bruce Denardo and Steven Alkov, "Acoustic Resonators with Variable Nonuniformity", AJP, Vol. 62, #4, April 1994, p. 315.
- Frank S. Crawford, "Lowest Modes of a Bottle", AJP, Vol. 56, #8, Aug. 1988, p. 702.
- Richard E. Berg, "Another Resonance Tube Demonstration", PIRA News, Vol. 8, #3, Dec. 1993, p. 32.
- G. D. Freier and F. J. Anderson, "Se-3", A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.
- Wallace A. Hilton, "W-4", Experiments in Optical Physics, p. 88.
- R. W. Pohl, Physical Principles of Mechanics and Acoustics, p. 253.
- Jearl Walker, "3.13. Frog Playing a Tree; Cricket Playing a Burrow", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 151.
- Jearl Walker, "1.49. Seashell Roar", The Flying Circus of Physics with Answers.
- Charles Taylor, "1.18", The Art and Science of Lecture Demonstration, p. 37 - 40.
- R. D. Edge, "7.06. Resonance in Sound", String & Sticky Tape Experiments.
- "19 - 4.5. Helmholtz Resonators", Physics Demonstration Experiments, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
- Gerard L'E Turner, Nineteenth-Century Scientific Instruments, p. 142 - 143.
- The Queen Catalogues Vol. II, Catalogue of Physicsal Instruments, No.4578, p. 45.
- Yicong Fu, Sunghwan Jung, Modeling hand clapping, Physics Today, Vol. 78, #5, p. 48, May 2025.