Unlike many of my AP Physics B peers, I do not play a musical instrument. Sadface!
But I'm not musically challenged or anything. Like everyone else who went to public elementary school, I played the recorder. I can kinda read music (Thank you, Ms. Komatsu!), I have a good sense of rhythm (I do love to dance) and I know the basics of playing the ukulele (But not like Scott Tan or Dardo--I merely DABBLE, but those two are uke beasts!).
So instead of playing music, I listen to music. I love my iPod and playlist-making is one of my hobbies (yes, I consider it a hobby).
The 'Iolani Stage Bands performed their Winter Concert at Aloha Tower Marketplace on Friday night. I went with my dad, primarily to watch my brother (he's a tenor sax man in Stage Band 1), but also to watch and support some friends, listen to music and, of course, discover the connections between the sweet sounds of the 'Iolani Stage Bands and the concepts that we're learning in Physics.
Sound is a longitudinal wave, which means that the motions of the particles are parallel to the direction of the wave. It originates from vibrations that come from the instruments and then travel through the air.
The Stage Bands performed songs that varied in speed, pitch and volume. In terms of waves, these are actually changes in speed, frequency of the sound wave, and the amplitude, respectively.
For changes in pitch, the frequency of the sound wave increases. At the same time, period (or the time it takes to complete one cycle) and wavelength (the distance between two corresponding parts of two waves) decrease.
For changes in amplitude, frequency stays the same (and so do period and wavelength) and the only thing that changes is the amplitude of the sound wave (or half the distance between the crest and the time axis, if graphed).
Here's a short video (which is mostly of my brother) of some of Stage Band 1's songs....
[Either my computer was just acting up, or Blogger Video Uploader is down--I can't upload straight through here, so I'm just gonna upload it on YouTube, then embed it here...]
And, voila, the Physics of the 'Iolani Stage Bands.
P.S. Great job to the AP Physics B'ers in Stage Band (I'm sure they couldn't stop thinking about Physics during the concert): Darwin, Scott M., and Max! :)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Week 15: El Escanciado
La semana pasada, investigué información sobre Asturias, una región de España.
Kidding. I won't write this blog post in Spanish. To translate that first sentence: Last week, I researched information about Asturias, a Spanish region.
For Spanish 3H, I had to make a presentation on a specific Spanish region and I chose Asturias, a region on the northeastern coast of Spanish. I had to look up the Asturian coat of arms and flag, learn about the region's main products, and explore the main tourist spots and activities that beautiful Asturias had to offer. I have to do my oral presentation this week. In Spanish, of course, so I'm crossing my fingers that I speak fluently.
But what does this have to do with Physics? Well, Week 15 of AP Physics B covered Fluid Mechanics. (Not very yummy, sorry).
One of the concepts we covered was fluid continuity and its matching equation. The concept basically states that at every point in a fluid, the rate of its volume flow rate is constant. The equation is shown here.
When it is served, sidra is poured a certain way, a specific method called El Escanciado. The server of the sidra, or el escanciador, has to hold the bottle horizontally high above his or her head and slowly pour it into the cup that he or she holds with the other hand down by the opposite hip. It sounds hard, doesn't it? It looks hard to do, too. But it's really cool. Apparently, pouring it like this improves the taste of the sidra.
As the sidra's flow gets closer to the cup, its cross-sectional area decreases. This means that the velocity increases as it gets closer to the cup because the volume flow rate has to be constant at every point throughout the fluid.
And this ultimately means that only the beastliest of escancidores can pour the sidra into the cup without spilling. Sidrerías, or unique bars that always serve sidra, usually have wooden floors because a lot of it ends up on the ground.
And, voila, the Physics of El Escanciado.
Here's a video:http://dft.ba/-omgsidra
Kidding. I won't write this blog post in Spanish. To translate that first sentence: Last week, I researched information about Asturias, a Spanish region.
For Spanish 3H, I had to make a presentation on a specific Spanish region and I chose Asturias, a region on the northeastern coast of Spanish. I had to look up the Asturian coat of arms and flag, learn about the region's main products, and explore the main tourist spots and activities that beautiful Asturias had to offer. I have to do my oral presentation this week. In Spanish, of course, so I'm crossing my fingers that I speak fluently.
But what does this have to do with Physics? Well, Week 15 of AP Physics B covered Fluid Mechanics. (Not very yummy, sorry).
One of the concepts we covered was fluid continuity and its matching equation. The concept basically states that at every point in a fluid, the rate of its volume flow rate is constant. The equation is shown here.While doing some research on the Internet for my Spanish project, I learned that Asturias' traditional alcoholic drink is natural cider, or Asturian sidra. (Am I allowed to talk about this? If not, let's pretend that it's not alcoholic. It's sparkling cider.)
When it is served, sidra is poured a certain way, a specific method called El Escanciado. The server of the sidra, or el escanciador, has to hold the bottle horizontally high above his or her head and slowly pour it into the cup that he or she holds with the other hand down by the opposite hip. It sounds hard, doesn't it? It looks hard to do, too. But it's really cool. Apparently, pouring it like this improves the taste of the sidra.  |
They have festivals for sidra! |
As the sidra's flow gets closer to the cup, its cross-sectional area decreases. This means that the velocity increases as it gets closer to the cup because the volume flow rate has to be constant at every point throughout the fluid.
And this ultimately means that only the beastliest of escancidores can pour the sidra into the cup without spilling. Sidrerías, or unique bars that always serve sidra, usually have wooden floors because a lot of it ends up on the ground.
And, voila, the Physics of El Escanciado.
Here's a video:
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