A two metre long steel pipe is set up on stage. In the top of the pipe are many small holes, and the pipe itself is connected to a gas supply. On one side of the tube a speaker is connected, and is operated by a frequency generator.
The room is darkened, the gas ignited and a long row of flames emerges, each about 15cm tall.
A tone is played through the loud speaker, resulting in wave crests and troughs appearing among the flames. A trained singer can produce flame mountains using a microphone.
How does it work?
In the pipe so-called standing waves emerge. This means there are equal distances at which the pressure in the pipe becomes a maximum. There the gas is pushed out further than in the regions in between, and a wave of flames arises.
Safety Tips
This experiment uses propane gas. An official certificate of standards (TÜV) is available for this equipment.
