Rubens tube

ow as shown in the gure. Based on Bernoullis principle, the gas ow is proportional to the square root of the
pressure dierence between the inside and outside of the
tube. This is shown in the gure for a tube without standing sound wave. Based on this argument, the ame height
depends non-linearly on the local, time-dependent pressure. The time average of the ow is reduced at the points
with oscillating pressure and thus ames are lower.[1]

A Rubens tube setup

A Rubens tube, also known as a standing wave ame

tube, or simply ame tube, is an antique physics apparatus for demonstrating acoustic standing waves in a tube.
Invented by German physicist Heinrich Rubens in 1905,
it graphically shows the relationship between sound waves
and sound pressure, like a primitive oscilloscope. Today
it is only used occasionally, as a demonstration in physics
education.

Overview

A length of pipe is perforated along the top and sealed at

Flame height on a Rubens tube (without standing sound wave)
both ends - one seal is attached to a small speaker or fre- for dierent ows of natural gas. Dashed line is linear t.
quency generator, the other to a supply of a ammable gas
(propane tank). The pipe is lled with the gas, and the gas
leaking from the perforations is lit. If a suitable constant
frequency is used, a standing wave can form within the
tube. When the speaker is turned on, the standing wave
will create points with oscillating (higher and lower) pressure and points with constant pressure (pressure nodes)
along the tube. Where there is oscillating pressure due
to the sound waves, less gas will escape from the perforations in the tube, and the ames will be lower at those
points. At the pressure nodes, the ames are higher. At
the end of the tube gas molecule velocity is zero and
oscillating pressure is maximal, thus low ames are observed. It is possible to determine the wavelength from
the ame minimum and maximum by simply measuring
with a ruler.

Explanation
Square root of the pressure dierence between inside and outside
of Rubens tube (without standing sound wave) for dierent ows
of natural gas. Dashed line is linear t.

Since the time averaged pressure is equal at all points of

the tube, it is not straightforward to explain the dierent
ame heights. The ame height is proportional to the gas
1

History

Heinrich Rubens was a German physicist born in 1865.

Though he allegedly worked with better remembered
physicists such as Max Planck at the University of Berlin
on some of the ground work for quantum physicists, he is
best known for his ame tube, which was demonstrated
in 1905. This original Rubens tube was a four-meter section of pipe with 200 holes spaced evenly along its length.
When the ends of the pipe are sealed and a ammable gas
is pumped into the device, the escaping gas can be lit to
form a row of ames of roughly equal size. When sound is
applied from one end by means of a loudspeaker, internal
pressure will change along the length of the tube. If the
sound is of a frequency that produces standing waves, the
wavelength will be visible in the series of ames, with the
tallest ames being where compression is occurring and
the lowest where rarefaction is occurring.

EXTERNAL LINKS

[6] "A website. Retrieved April 20, 2009.

[7] Discovery Channel Video. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
[8] Daily Planets The Greatest Show Ever. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
[9] Emer O'Brien - Return to Normal. re-title. Retrieved
January 1, 2014.

6 External links
Baroque hoedown for 6 Rubens tubes by Mathew
Kneebone and Yuri Suzuki
Detailed Video including sound board and microphone
Experiment notes, video & detailed analysis
Flame tube setup and explanation of eects

Public displays

A Rubens tube was on display at The Exploratory in

Bristol, England until it closed in 1999. A similar exhibit using polystyrene beads instead of ames featured
in the At-Bristol science centre until 2009.[2]
This display is also found in physics departments at a
number of universities.[3] A number of physics shows also
have one, such as: Rino Foundation [4] (The Netherlands),
Fysikshow Aarhus (Denmark), Fizika Ekspres (Croatia)
and A Physics show (Finland).[5][6]
The MythBusters also included a demonstration on their
Voice Flame Extinguisher episode in 2007.[7] The
Daily Planet's The Greatest Show Ever,[8] ran a competition whereby ve Canadian science centres competed
for the best science centres experiment/display. Edmontons Science Centre (Telus World of Science) utilized a
Rubens tube, which the competition. The special was
lmed on October 10, 2010.
The artist Emer O'Brien used Rubens tubes as the basis
for the sound sculpture featured in her 2012 exhibition
Return to Normal at the Wapping Project in London.[9]

References

[1] G.W. Ficken, F.C. Stephenson, Rubens ame-tube

demonstration, The Physics Teacher, Vol. 17, pp. 306310 (1979)
[2] The Exploratory - Exhibits. Retrieved November 6,
2006.
[3] Oscillation & Waves. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
[4] website Rino Foundation. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
[5] Fizika Ekspres website. Retrieved April 20, 2009.

Brief Setup Guide

Classroom setup guide
Information on Rubens original design in .doc format
Image showing setup
General information
Experiment setup - under Links heading and
photo illustrating this experiment
Video various tones and music being played
Rubens Tube performance by Alyce Santoro

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

Text

Rubens tube Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubens'%20tube?oldid=630427333 Contributors: Rich Farmbrough, Pmsyyz,

Spinal83, Aricept, Rondom, Demarchist, Chobot, Banaticus, Hydrargyrum, SmackBot, Y control, JeyP, Geekybroad, Thumperward,
Berensame, Kvng, Chetvorno, Vanished user vjhsduheuiui4t5hjri, Headbomb, Vicsar, Coeepusher, GregU, Lantonov, Bubnicbf, Nargopolis, Mars216, Andy Dingley, Jspacone90, Mathew Kneebone, Excirial, XLinkBot, Rror, Dthomsen8, Addbot, High Contrast, Cantonsde-l'Est, Frankiwilson, Robvanvee, Prof308, Bollyje, H3llBot, ChuispastonBot, ClueBot NG, Alemisstequila, Rm1271, BattyBot, BlackPoison78, ELClinkscale, Bhatleskog and Anonymous: 44

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Images

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File:RubensTube.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/RubensTube.png License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
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Content license

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