Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Sound Waves: Interference00:53

Sound Waves: Interference

Sound waves can be modeled either as longitudinal waves, wherein the molecules of the medium oscillate around an equilibrium position, or as pressure waves. When two identical waves from the same source superimpose on each other, the combination of two crests or two troughs results in amplitude reinforcement known as constructive interference. If two identical waves, that are initially in phase, become out of phase because of different path lengths, the combination of crests with troughs...
Sinusoidal Sources01:18

Sinusoidal Sources

Direct current (DC) refers to an electric current that flows in a single direction, maintaining a constant polarity. This is in contrast to alternating current (AC), which periodically changes its direction and magnitude. AC forms the backbone of modern electricity transmission and distribution systems due to its efficient long-distance transmission capabilities.
In homes, the power supplies use sinusoidal sources to provide electricity. These sources generate a voltage that varies sinusoidally...
Interference: Path Lengths01:10

Interference: Path Lengths

Consider two sources of sound, that may or may not be in phase, emitting waves at a single frequency, and consider the frequencies to be the same.
Two special sources may be considered when they are in phase. This can be easily achieved by feeding the two sources from the same source. An example would be synchronizing the two speakers by feeding them with the same source, such as the sound waves produced by a tuning fork. This setup ensures that the two sources have the same frequency and are...
Sound Waves01:01

Sound Waves

Sound waves can be thought of as fluctuations in the pressure of a medium through which they propagate. Since the pressure also makes the medium's particles vibrate along its direction of motion, the waves can be modeled as the displacement of the medium's particles from their mean position.
Sound waves are longitudinal in most fluids because fluids cannot sustain any lateral pressure. In solids, however, shear forces help in propagating the disturbance in the lateral direction as well. Hence,...
Beats01:09

Beats

The study of music provides many examples of the superposition of waves and the constructive and destructive interference that occurs. Very few examples of music being performed consist of a single source playing a single frequency for an extended period of time. A single frequency of sound for an extended period might be monotonous to the point of irritation, similar to the unwanted drone of an aircraft engine or a loud fan. Music is pleasant and exciting due to mixing the changing frequencies...
Echo01:06

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dynamical system identification, model selection, and model uncertainty quantification by Bayesian inference.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2024
Same author

Maximum Entropy Analysis of Flow Networks: Theoretical Foundation and Applications.

Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)·2020
Same author

Erratum: "Inferring the dynamics of oscillatory systems using recurrent neural networks" [Chaos 29, 063128 (2019)].

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2019
Same author

Inferring the dynamics of oscillatory systems using recurrent neural networks.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2019
Same author

Sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics for rapid model recovery.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2018
Same author

Aeroacoustical coupling and synchronization of organ pipes.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2016
Same journal

Erratum: Spectroscopy and Ground-State Transfer of Ultracold Bosonic ^{39}K^{133}Cs Molecules [Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 203401 (2025)].

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Erratum: Lifetime of the ^{2}F_{7/2} Level in Yb^{+} for Spontaneous Emission of Electric Octupole Radiation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 213001 (2021)].

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Laser-Plasma Based Seeded Free Electron Laser in the High-Gain Regime.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Parent Hamiltonians for Stabilizer Quantum Many-Body Scars.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Properties of Heavy Cosmic Nuclei Phosphorus, Chlorine, Argon, Potassium, and Calcium: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Role of Spin-Isospin Symmetries in Nuclear β-Decays.

Physical review letters·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task
05:04

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task

Published on: September 21, 2017

Synchronization of sound sources.

Markus Abel1, Karsten Ahnert, Steffen Bergweiler

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam University, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24, D-14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany. markus.abel@physik.uni-potsdam.de

Physical Review Letters
|October 2, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers explored sound synchronization in organ pipes, finding that electric speakers can induce synchronization over an unprecedented range. This study also reveals a mutual silencing effect with potential applications in noise abatement.

More Related Videos

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks
09:04

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks

Published on: March 16, 2015

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention
04:32

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

Published on: December 20, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task
05:04

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task

Published on: September 21, 2017

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks
09:04

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks

Published on: March 16, 2015

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention
04:32

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

Published on: December 20, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Acoustics
  • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • Synchronization Theory

Background:

  • Sound generation is complex and nonlinear.
  • Rayleigh's 150-year-old problem of two nearby organ pipes sounding inaudibly at different frequencies is qualitatively explained by synchronization theory.
  • Modern synchronization theory provides a framework for understanding complex acoustic phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the synchronization of sound generation in organ pipes.
  • To explore the effect of external driving signals on acoustic synchronization.
  • To quantitatively match experimental observations with theoretical models.

Main Methods:

  • Replaced one organ pipe with an electric speaker to study synchronization.
  • Applied minute driving signals to the system.
  • Developed a reconstruction method for quantitative analysis.

Main Results:

  • Observed synchronization over three decades, the largest range reported to date.
  • Demonstrated that small driving signals can force synchronization.
  • Identified a mutual silencing effect in the organ pipe system.
  • Achieved a perfect quantitative match between experimental data and theoretical predictions.

Conclusions:

  • Minute driving signals can induce acoustic synchronization over an exceptionally wide range.
  • The observed mutual silencing effect has potential applications in noise abatement strategies.
  • The developed reconstruction method enables accurate quantitative modeling of acoustic synchronization phenomena.