Abstract
IT is difficult for a student to obtain a clear idea of the movement of the particles of a liquid or gas propagating a wave. To assist him models have been devised, but as a rule they are expensive and complicated. The following plan, based on the principle of the stroboscope, I have found extremely convenient. Take a piece of cardboard about 3 ft. long and 18 in. broad. Put this into the tin drum of a “zoetrope,” pressing the card well against the interior of the drum, so that it stands up forming a cardboard cylinder. With a lead pencil mark where the inside fold of card comes, and you have the right size of the cardboard to form the cylinder. Divide now the length of the cardboard into 12 equal strips. On each strip paint dots representing the wave you want to study, taking care that each wave is represented 1/12 behind its predecessor. Lastly, cut out 12 slits, about 8 in. by 1/4; in., between each representation of the wave; restore the card to the drum of the zoetrope, and then turning the cylinder and observing through the slits, the wave is seen, as the cylinder revolves, to advance with its characteristic motion, while by stopping out all but one of the particles represented the exact character of its oscillation, whether circular, elliptical, or linear, is clearly seen.
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WOODWARD, C. Simple Method of Studying Wave Motion. Nature 8, 506 (1873). https://doi.org/10.1038/008506b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/008506b0
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