Acoustics of Drums

MAR 01, 1992

Though such renowned physicists as Rayleigh and Raman have studied drums, our understanding of their acoustical behavior remains incomplete. Digital computers and holographic interferometry are now helping to fill in the missing pieces.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881333

Thomas D. Rossing

Drums have played an important role in nearly all musical cultures. They have been used to transmit messages, convey the time of day, send soldiers into battle and warn of impending disaster. Although drums have been constructed of wood, stone and metal, the most familiar type of drum consists of a membrane of animal skin or synthetic material stretched over some type of air enclosure.

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More about the authors

Thomas D. Rossing, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb.