Resonant frequency and the threat of sound in space | Physics – How To Survive in Space

Dr Kevin Fong explains how sound vibrations could pose a real threat astronauts and rockets in space. This clip is from the 2015 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Subscribe for more Physics clips from BBC Teach on Wednesdays when we have them in: http://bit.ly/BBCSubscribeTeach If you found this video helpful, give it a like. Share it with someone. Add the video to your own teaching playlists. Create an account, subscribe to the channel and create playlists for different age groups, sets and syllabuses. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bbc_teach ===================== Dr Kevin Fong explains how sound waves could pose a real threat to astronauts and rockets in space. He uses the example of the Soyuz Rocket, and explains that as it travels through the atmosphere, the air pressure can pose a number of dangers. One of these threats comes from vibrations, including sound. When the sound waves are at the resonant frequency of the rocket, they could destroy it. Kevin first uses audience members to listen to the resonant frequency of a wine glass and then sing it back into a microphone. The microphone is connected to a loudspeaker below the wine glass, which eventually resonates and shatters when the correct frequency is sung. This clip is from the BBC series How to Survive in Space. Dr Kevin Fong opens a window onto today’s most exciting space missions, explores the future of space travel, and offers a unique insight into the challenges of protecting human life in the hostile environment of space, as part of the 2015 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. For our How to Survive in Space playlist: http://bit.ly/TeachSurvive For our Space Science playlist: http://bit.ly/bit.ly/BBCTeachSpace For our Physics playlist: http://bit.ly/BBCTeachPhysics For Class Clips users, the original reference for the clip was p03lh26b. ===================== Teaching Physics? You could ask students if they have heard about the phenomenon where a wine glass is shattered by an opera singer. Ask them if they have seen this. After watching the clip, ask them to suggest why the woman succeeded in breaking the glass but the girl did not. This could be due to the higher amplitude (loudness) of the woman’s voice, or perhaps a pitch more closely matched to the resonant frequency of the glass. This clip will be relevant for teaching GCSE Physics. This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC KS4/GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 in Scotland. ===================== For more clips from other subjects at the BBC Teach YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/bbcteach More resources for teachers from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/teach More from BBC Learning Zone: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone More resources from BBC Bitesize: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education ===================== Subscribe to create your own customised playlists, and get notified about our latest clips. As we have them, new videos will be uploaded on the following days: Mondays: Biology, Computer Science, Music, Religious Studies Tuesdays: Drama and Performance, English Language, Maths, Physical Education Wednesdays: Languages, Media Studies, Modern Studies and PSHE, Physics Thursdays: Art and Design, Chemistry, Geography, History Fridays: Business Studies, Design and Technology, English Literature, Early Years