Tuesday, March 8, 2011
How long does a tuning fork ring? 'Quantum-mechanics' solve a very classical problem
How long does a tuning fork ring? 'Quantum-mechanics' solve a very classical problem: For many of these applications it is necessary to minimize the mechanical loss. However, it had previously remained a challenge to make numerical predictions of the attainable Q for even relatively straightforward geometries. Researchers from Vienna and Munich have now overcome this hurdle by developing a finite-element-based numerical solver that is capable of predicting the design-limited damping of almost arbitrary mechanical resonators. "We calculate how elementary mechanical excitations, or phonons, radiate from the mechanical resonator into the supports of the device"
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From the wooden bars in a xylophone or the head of a drum, to the strings and sound box of a guitar or violin, musical instruments are the most familiar examples of mechanical resonators. The actual mechanical vibrations of these instruments create acoustic waves that we hear as sound.
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