Measuring the acoustic response of Helmholtz resonators

Abstract

Many experiments have been proposed to investigate acoustic phenomena in college and early undergraduate levels, in particular the speed of sound,1–9 by means of different methods, such as time of flight, transit time, or resonance in tubes. In this paper we propose to measure the acoustic response curves of a glass beaker filled with different gases, used as an acoustic resonator. We show that these curves expose many interesting peaks and features, one of which matches the resonance peak predicted for a Helmholtz resonator fairly well, and gives a decent estimate for the speed of sound in some cases. The measures are obtained thanks to the capabilities of smartphones.