The David and Edith Harris Physics Colloquium Series

Speaker: Nick Giordano | Auburn University

"Physics of Wind Musical Instruments"

The application of basic physics principles to understand musical instruments has a long and interesting history, involving such well known physicists as Helmholtz and Raman. We are now at a point where, with the use of high performance computing, we can apply the fundamental equations of mechanics to calculate the sound produced by realistic models of musical instruments. Wind instruments provide the greatest challenge since they require the application of the Navier-Stokes equations, a set of nonlinear partial differential equations. In this talk I describe the application of the Navier-Stokes equations to the modeling of wind instruments including the recorder, the flute, and the trumpet, and discuss the kinds of insights that can be gained from this kind of modeling.

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The lecture will take place in 10-250, starting at 4pm.
Pre-Colloquium Social in room 4-349 will begin at 3:30pm, refreshments will be served.

For questions, contact Ryan Higgins at higginsr@mit.edu

See future Physics Colloquium lectures at: https://web.mit.edu/physics/events/colloquia.html