Waves

Kundt’s Tube
 Waves
KUNDT’S tube experiment

Metal rodClamped
in which at the middle Air or anyCork
otherdust,
gas or any
longitudinal
AIM: To find waves are of sound
the speed enclosed
in metal
Movable in
orthe
fine
Piston totube
inpowder
gases spread
produced in theoftube
adjust the length
Concept: Longitudinal waves are theproduced
tube in the
rod, and the length of the tube is adjusted, such that
a loud sound is heard (resonance occurs)
 Waves
KUNDT’S tube experiment

The rod is rubbed or hammered to produce longitudinal waves

Compression and rarefactions from rod travels to
the air in the tube which forms standing waves.
The dust particles, accumulate at the nodes
(where there is minimum displacement of the
air)
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KUNDT’S tube experiment Distance between two
solid/4 solid/4 nodes (piles) d = air/2
AIR/2

L d

For Rod
L = solid/2 For Air
vsolid fsolid d = air/2
vsolid = fsolid =
vair f air vair = f air
Since they are in resonance,
vsolid frequencies
L will be same
vair = d
Variation: Gases in the tube can be replaced and the apparatus
could be used to compare the speed of sound in different gases.
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Example
A kundts tube apparatus has a steel rod of length 1.0m clamed at the center. It is
vibrated in its fundamental mode at a frequency of 2600 Hz. The power dispersed
in the tube collects into heaps separated by 6.5cm. Calculate the speed of sound
in steel and air.
/2

/2
Rod (l = 1 cm) Tube
l = /2 /2 = 6.5 × 102 m
 = 13 × 102 m
 = 2l = 2 cm
f = 2600 Hz
f = 2600 Hz
v = f = 2600 (13 × 102) = 338 m/s
v = f  = 5200 m/s
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