Physics of sound
Product Code : SCL-MH-12620
Quick Answer: The Physics of Sound apparatus is a wave and acoustics set built around a 1000 mm borosilicate glass resonance tube, 40 mm in diameter, with a water-level reservoir. It also has 4 steel tuning forks on wooden resonance boxes and a sonometer block for vibrating strings.
Last updated: October 2026
Key Features
- Heavy-walled borosilicate glass resonance tube, 1000 mm long and 40 mm in diameter, with a metric scale
- Anodised aluminium water reservoir joined by silicone tubing, with a vertical slider clamp to set the water level
- 4 steel tuning forks of 256 Hz, 384 Hz, 426 Hz and 512 Hz
- Wooden resonance boxes for the tuning forks
- Sonometer block for transverse vibrations of stretched strings and Mersenne’s laws
- Sound sensor link for viewing waveforms on an oscilloscope
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Resonance tube | Borosilicate glass, 1000 mm x 40 mm |
| Scale | 0 to 1000 mm |
| Water reservoir | Anodised aluminium, silicone tubing, slider clamp |
| Tuning forks | 256 Hz, 384 Hz, 426 Hz, 512 Hz, steel |
About This Product
With the resonance tube and forks, students raise or lower the water column to find resonance lengths and work out the speed of sound in air. The sonometer shows how tension, length and mass per unit length change the frequency of a string, and the sensor link turns sound into a trace for studying amplitude, loudness, interference and beats.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the speed of sound found with this apparatus?
A tuning fork is held over the glass resonance tube while the water level is moved with the slider clamp; the air-column lengths at resonance give the wavelength and so the speed of sound.
Which tuning forks are included?
Four steel forks of 256 Hz, 384 Hz, 426 Hz and 512 Hz, used with wooden resonance boxes.
Related: Mechanics & Heat.
For a quotation on the Physics of sound, contact Educational Instrument.
