Savart wheel

Savart wheel

The Savart wheel is an acoustical device that was created by French physicist Félix Savart (1791-1841), which he used for research on lower frequency limits of hearing.

The device consists of a mounted metal disk having a large number of teeth with uniform spacings on its circumference. When the toothed disk is spun in rapid revolution, and an edge of a playing card is held against the teeth, it produces a shrill tone. When the speed of the wheel slows down, the shrill tone correspondingly diminishes in pitch. Thus, the frequency in tone is directly proportional to the rotation rate of the disk.

A variation of the Savart wheel has a series of toothed wheels which can be used to produce the sound of a major chord.

References:

* Source: Elroy M. Avery, School Physics (New York: Sheldon and Co., 1895)
* [http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Acoustics/Savarts_Wheel/Savarts_Wheel.html Photographs of a Savart Wheel]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Félix Savart — (June 30 1791 March 16 1841) became a professor at Collège de France in 1836 and was the co originator of the Biot Savart Law, along with Jean Baptiste Biot. Together, they worked on the theory of magnetism and electrical currents. Their law was… …   Wikipedia

  • Magnetic field — This article is about a scientific description of the magnetic influence of an electric current or magnetic material. For the physics of magnetic materials, see magnetism. For information about objects that create magnetic fields, see magnet. For …   Wikipedia

  • acoustics — /euh kooh stiks/, n. 1. (used with a sing. v.) Physics. the branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves. 2. (used with a pl. v.) the qualities or characteristics of a room, auditorium, stadium, etc., that determine the audibility or… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”