Vibrations, Harmonics and Standing Waves
Much can be said about these three concepts but there are much greater explanations on the internet than are provided here. Suffice it to say that vibration, harmonics and standing waves play a crucial role in the Universe around us. Vibrations occur in all things from the impossibly small frequencies in atoms and light to the unimaginable huge oscillations of stars and even entire galaxies. The harmonics of the world and space around us has been defined as the " Music of the Spheres " in which harmonies of nature are considered to be fundamental to the formation of all things. Standing waves concern waves which are contained and travel back and forth upon themselves so as to give the appearance as to not be moving anywhere. Resonance is defined in physics as the amplification of a natural vibration ( be it mechanical, magnetic or electrical ) by input of energy at the same vibrational rate as the natural vibration. The following brief physics tutorial covers resonance in greater detail:
The Physics Classroom- Resonance and Standing Waves Part 1
The Physics Classroom- Resonance and Standing Waves Part 2
Understanding the physics of waves.
from The University of Glasgow
Although these articles deal with sound and music the principles of resonance apply to mechanical vibration, electrical vibration and magnetic vibration. An excellent example of resonance at work in an electromagnetic circuit is provided by this java applet called "Tuning a Radio Receiver" at the Molecular Expressions website. Radio circuits will be discussed in more detail in the next pages concerning electromagnetic fields and circuits.
Resonance and Feedback
Tp quickly explain the topic of feedback there is no better example of feedback and resonance in a natural system than the following image of a tornado. Whereas resonance allows the maximum amount of energy transfer between vibrating ( or rotating systems ) feedback occurs when a portion of the output of a system is fed back into the input of the system, increasing the systems total power. When combined together these two mechanisms have the potential to completely destroy the system in which they are operating. A common example of feedback involves the squealing of an amplifier when the microphone is brought to close to the speaker. The squeal is the amplifier going into "feedback oscillations" as output from the speaker is fed back into the microphone. This is considered a nuisance in audio amplification and the circuitry is prevented from overloading due to the design of the electronics. In nature however the principle of feedback is a source of tremendous power and growth.
Another simple example of feedback in nature would be a snowball thrown down a large hill, where under perfect conditions, it would accumulate more snow and more mass until it accumulated such a large amount of total energy the resulting snow could destroy a building. See the picture of optical feedback between a computer and camera on my cool pictures page which demonstrates how a simple feedback arrangement can cause an infinite loop of imagery ( which is an excellent test of video processor speed). This is how a small input force and small overall input energy over time can give rise to exponential increases in total energy. This is part of the secret to development of the huge energy requirements for interstellar travel.
Vortex Motion is Universal
We see the same exact patterns in these waterspout images.
The smoke flares were dropped to show the wind pattern at the surface, which is in a different direction then the pattern would suggest.
Click here
for a very cool video demonstration of the
power of feedback in operation.
This video should be called Dolphin Scientists
Check out the physicss these dolphins are playing with. Notice the behavior of the air in the bubbles the dolphins make. The bubbles move with amazing simplistic beauty, doing things air does not normally do underwater. For a physicist these bubbles have multiple degrees of motion, and many forces involved, which make this simple thing, exceedingly difficult to model. When the bubbles are destroyed, the air behaves completely as we would expect, quickly rising to the surface. Absolutely amazing.
