If you’re interested in the music of Whirly Tubes, and the physics behind it, the late Dr. Paul Doherty’s website may be just the thing for you. There you will find (amongst many other things) sections on : What Notes Do Whirlies Sing? What makes a whirly sing? Math Root the connection between the frequency of the […]
Tag: tube
The mystery of the whirly tube’s missing fundamental mode [study]
The musical instrument shown above is known by various names e.g. the whirly tube, the corrugaphone, the bloogle resonator, the voice of the dragon, the hummer, and even, according to American composer (and parodist) Peter Schickele the “Lasso d’Amore”. For acousticians, it’s noteworthy because the fundamental acoustic mode, that’s to say the note that one […]
“Mind the [wildcard] gap” — in academic paper titles
If you’ve ever used The Tube (the underground railway system) in London, there’s a very good chance you’ll know about this announcement : What’s perhaps less well known is the wealth (perhaps even the plethora) of academic papers which have taken advantage of the phrase in their titles. Here are but a few examples : […]
Do orangutans prefer functional tools or non-functional tools?
Orangutans (Pongo spp.) have been observed to spontaneously use tools of various kinds to achieve their objectives. But researchers from The Great Ape Trust, Des Moines, IA, and Iowa State University wondered whether, given the choice, they might prefer to go for a functional tool (stiff) or a non-functional (floppy) tool. Their experimental study presented […]
When you need to breathe, not just any pen will do
Ball point pens are not all equivalent, suggests this emergency-medical study: “Airflow efficacy of ballpoint pen tubes: a consideration for use in bystander cricothyrotomy,” David Owens, Ben Greenwood, Alistair Galley, Alun Tomkinson, Sarah Woolley, Emergency Medicine Journal, 2010;27:317-320. (Thanks to investigator @MsCelsius for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at Princess of Wales Hospital, […]
The Human Tube Map
Food & Function (a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal which provides a unique venue to publish work at the interface of the chemistry, physics and biology of food. For an example article see: Fluid mechanics of eating, swallowing and digestion – overview and perspectives, Jan Engmann and Adam […]
Bat on a plane, Snake in an MRI tube
Reminiscent, in a general way, of the film Snakes on a Plane, here are two recent (or fairly recent) instances of scary (if you find them scary) animals interacting with humans inside a machine. Bat on a plane Bat stows away on Delta flight, CDC fears rabies risk to passengers The CDC [Centers for Disease […]