The aim of this paper is to provide physics teachers and physics students with interdisciplinary cultural and scientific related content. The "dombra" is on the one hand a cultural symbol of Kazakhstan with a long tradition. On the other hand, the dombra as a musical instrument is an object of interest in acoustics. The topic can lead to…

A couple of experiments analyzing the vibration of bars in different configurations using as a vibration sensor an electric guitar pickup are presented. The device is a versatile and easy to operate sensor that can be used in experiments involving the analysis of vibrations in rods and bars of different composition and in different configurations.…

Quantum mechanics is a notoriously difficult subject to learn, due to a lack of real-world analogies that might help provide an intuitive grasp of the underlying ideas. Discrete energy levels and absorption and emission wavelengths in atoms are sometimes described as uniquely quantum phenomena, but are actually general to spatially confined waves…

The effects of inhaled helium on the human voice were investigated in a recent article in "The Physics Teacher." As mentioned in that article, demonstrations of the effect are a popular classroom activity. If the number of YouTube videos is any indication, the effects of sulfur hexafluoride on the human voice are equally popular.…

What follows are several investigations involving string musical instruments developed for and used in a "Science of Sound & Light" course. The experiments make use of a guitar, orchestral string instruments and data collection and graphing software. They are designed to provide students with concrete examples of how mathematical formulae, when…

The study demonstrates the induction of one-dimensional standing waves, called "natural-harmonics" on a guitar to provide a unique tone. The analysis shows that a normally complex vibration is composed of a number of simple and discrete vibrations.