Norway 1

Michael Alexander Calder (19)

City/Region: Kleppe, Rogaland fylke E-mail: mcalder@online.no Hobbies: Music (play percussion), competition swimming and computers Career: A combination of computer, science and technology School: St. Olav videregående skole

Resonance Frequency Spectrum of Axial Symmetric Cavities

All it took Michael to do was to blow into a bottle and to hear the sound reverberate before he was off on his quest to find out more about which factors influence the frequency of resonance when air is blown into a cavity. He constructed an assortment of cylindrical and conical cavities using a combination of commercial piping, acrylic, and brass sheets. He removed the bottleneck leaving a hole in the top plate and in the process was able to explore everything from the very different acoustics found in Helmholtz Resonator (named after the 19th century German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz) to wave phenomena found in cavities. Michael concluded that neither the materials tested nor the thickness of the materials influence the resonance frequency. The project gave interesting results on how the frequency varies in terms of both diameter and angle height. Michael now hopes that his results may prove useful for theoretical research corrections for wave phenomena in pipes.