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Rope Wave Generator - Rope Tension Vs Wavelength

Purpose

To observe the change in wavelength of a vibrating rope as the tension is varied.

Equipment

Mounted rope wave generator with weights.

Images

g3-52

Description

Set the generator frequency using about 200g to produce 2 loops. Quadrupling the weight increases the wave speed (and thus the wavelength) by about a factor of two, creating one loop, while using one-quarter of the weight creates four loops, halving the wavelength. This is Mersenne's second law for stretched strings.