Blog Post #2

1.  When I tap the glass, it vibrates.  The vibrations create sound waves that travel outwards and reach the ears of people nearby.  When the glass moves, it causes the air molecules around it to bump into each other and get compressed.  This results in a chain reaction in which air molecules travel away from the glass, becoming compressed.  Since the glass is circular and there is nothing to block the movement of the sound waves, the sound can reach anyone within a certain radius.

2.  I will change the pitch by changing the amount of water inside the glass.  The more water there is in the glass, the lower the pitch will be.  This is because when there is water inside the glass, some of the energy that would be pushing air molecules is moving water molecules instead.  The more water there is in the glass, the more energy is diverted to moving the water instead of the air.  This creates a lower pitch.

3.  I will be using a set of cheap wine glasses glued to a simple surface like a piece of wood, to keep all the glasses together and safe.  I will pour different amounts of water into each glass to achieve different notes.  I will play the instrument by tapping different glasses to produce different sounds.

4.  How can I precisely measure the amount of water to put in each glass so that I can achieve specific notes?  Should I be careful to tap each glass in the same specific place?