K Hinds 2012

Resonance
Resonance, An object free to vibrate tends to do so at a specific rate called the object's natural, or
resonant, frequency. (This frequency depends on the size, shape, and composition of the object.)
Such an object will vibrate strongly when it is subjected to vibrations or regular impulses at a
frequency equal to or very close to its natural frequency. This phenomenon is called resonance.
Through resonance, a comparatively weak vibration in one object can cause a strong vibration in
another. By analogy, the term resonance is also used to describe the phenomenon by which an
oscillating electric current is strengthened by an electric signal of a specific frequency.
An example of resonance is provided by a motor that causes vibration in a piece of furniture in
another part of the same house. These vibrations occur because the furniture has a natural
frequency equal to the frequency of the vibrations set up by the motor. The furniture is said to be
in resonance with the motor. Resonance can also be observed in an automobile when a certain
part an ash tray, for example vibrates when the car is traveling at a certain speed. The ash tray is
in resonance with the vibrations of the engine at that speed.
Mechanical resonance can produce vibrations strong enough to destroy the object in which they
occur. For example, soldiers marching over a bridge can set up extreme vibrations at the bridge's
natural frequency and shake it apart. For this reason soldiers break step to cross a bridge. In 1940
wind gusts at Puget Sound Narrows, Tacoma, Washington, caused a suspension bridge to vibrate
at its natural frequency and the bridge collapsed.
In music, resonance is used to increase the intensity (loudness) of a sound. The comparatively
weak vibrations produced at the end of an organ pipe, for example, cause a column of air in the
pipe to vibrate in resonance, thus greatly increasing the loud-ness of the sound. This principle
also applies to the human voice, in which the vibrations of the vocal cords are reinforced by
resonant vibrations in the oral and nasal passages.
Electrical resonance is used to tune radios and television sets. Tuning consists of establishing a
circuit with a resonant frequency equal to the assigned frequency of the desired station.