It turns out the optimal angle for blowing air onto the lip of a bottle to make it whistle is just about 15 degrees…
Software, hardware, art – a blog of process and findings
It turns out the optimal angle for blowing air onto the lip of a bottle to make it whistle is just about 15 degrees…
that’s a beautiful design: we’re trying to get bottles to whistle on top of a moving car (attached to a support on the Thule Bars): trying to allow for the curved airflow up and over the car is a problem. we can hold the bottle out the window and lean it into the wind, and it does seem to make sound at about 15 degrees (only if you drive over 15 mph, interestingly…)… any thoughts on how we can get the bottles to whistle?
Hmm, I think maybe it’s that the wind isn’t directional in your case, but probably pretty turbulent from the car’s front. Maybe a funnel in front of the bottle to direct the air?
Over-blowing may be the issue. What happens when you blow too hard is you hit a higher frequency. Usually, a harmonic that’s a few octaves higher. Maybe, you can’t hear it. The ideal whistle, is only 3 times the diameter in length of a tube, not a cavity.
is there a full paper on this experiment? if so could you please send it to my email or reply, thanks!
@Duncan – no, I’m afraid not! This was a pretty low-key test. If you do write up something related please do share it with me!
Hi Jeff, is there a physical reason for this specific angle? why blowing at a different angle does not produce any sound?
I’m sure there’s a scientific reason but I definitely can’t explain it! Basically, I just changed the angle until it made sound :)