Heinrich Rubens, a German physicist, invented a tube that uses fire to visualize standing sound waves: The Rubens’ tube.
This awesome video takes it to the next level with a 2D ‘Pyro Board’.
Have you ever vizualized sounds? This updated version of the Rubens’ tube is just amazing. Physicists and chemists from Fysikshow have created an apparatus with 2,500 holes in the top. The key difference is that these holes are not all in a line like a traditional tube, but actually cover an entire plane. From 1D to 2D! Really cool (Explanations ’til 3:38 then from 3:39 with music):
So how does this all work?
The pressure variations due to the sound waves affect the flow rate of flammable gas from the holes in the Pyro Board and therefore affect the height and colour of flames. This is interesting for visualizing standing wave patterns and simply awesome to watch when put to music.