For our physics class I need to make an instrument, but we need to be able to predict the frequency (note) that the instrument will make before building it. I think that I am going to make a wind chime out of copper pipe. I have no idea how to calculate the length of the pipe that would be needed to produce a certain note. How would I go about this?
You can simulate your metal pipe using Solidworks, and it can compute the resonant frequency for you. Steel gives a better sound than copper, btw.
In a wind chime, the note is produced by the chime being struck. There are so many variables involved, e.g length, thickness, diameter, exact composition of metal, etc., that it is virtually impossible to predict or calculate the frequency. With a blown instrument, such as a flute or recorder, it is the length of the air column and whether or not the pipe is open at both ends that determines the frequency.
