2. A beat is heard if two slightly different
frequencies are heard at the same time
It is a result of the amplitude increasing as well as
decreasing as a function of time
The variation in the amplitude is what is known as
the beat
This concept is important in real world situations
3. -The concept of beats can be witnessed when tuning musical
instruments with a tuning fork.
-A tuning fork can be struck with a rubber hammer to
produce the frequency that resembles the “A” note (the
frequency most tuning forks are made to ring) of an
instrument like a piano.
-If you then play an out of tune “A” note on the instrument
you will hear a slightly different frequency.
-This difference in frequency will cause a “beating” sound
that is heard by our ear.
4. To successfully tune the instrument, or piano in
our case, we need to adjust the strings that are
connected to the keys.
We tighten or loosen the strings accordingly.
We continue to adjust the string which also
adjusts the frequency expressed by the note
until both the tuning fork frequency and the
note frequency are the exact same.
We know that the frequencies are the same
when our ears stop experiencing the “beating”.
Once both frequencies are in phase the
“beating” stops.
5. Once the “A” note is in tune
you can then adjust the
other notes of the piano
accordingly.
Tuning instruments is an
application of Interference in
the form of beats.
