The Holdstock-Piachaud prize 2010

In the case of stringed instruments like the guitar, the elastic property that determines the speed of the sound produced is its linear mass density or the mass per unit length. This is simply called the linear density. If the string's linear density is constant along the string, then the linear density is simply the total mass divided by the total length.
The string's wave speed can be regulated by varying the linear density. Tension is the other property that determines the speed of...

A pie chart (or a pie graph) is a circular graphical chart or a pictorial representation of categorical data. It is divided into slices of pie each indicating numerical proportions. It is also used to show the relative sizes of data in a single chart.
In a pie chart, the central angle, the arc length of each slice, and the area are directly proportional to the quantity or percentage it represents. Some real-world examples that can be depicted using pie charts include marks obtained by students...

A torsional pendulum involves the oscillation of a rigid body in which the restoring force is provided by the torsion in the string from which the rigid body is suspended. Ideally, the string should be massless; practically, its mass is much smaller than the rigid body's mass and is neglected.
As long as the rigid body's angular displacement is small, its oscillation can be modeled as a linear angular oscillation. The amplitude of the oscillation is an angle. The role of mass is played by the...

When materials are subjected to forces that surpass their yield strength, they undergo a process known as plastic deformation. This results in a permanent alteration or strain in their structure. This concept can be specifically applied to circular shafts, where the deformation leads to a change in its shape. The precise evaluation of this plastic deformation requires understanding the stress distribution within the circular shaft, which is achieved by calculating the maximum shearing stress in...

Mohr's circle is a graphical method for identifying the state of stress at a point in a material, making it easier to analyze stress transformations under plane stress conditions. This two-dimensional technique visualizes both normal and shearing stresses on an element.
Consider a set of Cartesian coordinates. The horizontal and vertical axes correspond to normal stress (σ) and shearing stress (τ), respectively. Two points, points A and B, are defined by the normal and shear stresses on the...

When a structural member undergoes plastic deformation due to bending, it is crucial to understand the position of the neutral axis and the stress distribution. This member, characterized by a single plane of symmetry, exhibits a uniform stress distribution, with negative stress above the neutral axis and positive stress below. Notably, the neutral axis does not align with the centroid of the cross-section. This misalignment is typical in cases where the cross-section is not rectangular or...