Oldenburg physicists advise ZDF journalists on vivid experiment

On Saturday, 3 September 2011, ZDF will be showing the large-scale acoustics experiment in which 100 pupils from Oldenburg's Liebfrauenschule took part in its children's programme "pur +" from 10.35 am to 11.00 am.

The experiment took place on 16 June at the Ahlhorn airfield. Prof. Dr Steven van de Par, head of the acoustics working group, and experimental physicist Prof. Dr Volker Mellert were on hand to advise the ZDF television team. Physics didactics expert Prof Dr Michael Komorek established contact with the Liebfrauenschule: "There is a great deal of interest in physics among the younger pupils. The media can help to ensure that this interest is also maintained in the higher grades. That's why the physicists at the University of Oldenburg are supporting this production," explains Komorek.

The large-scale experiment visualised the propagation of sound and its speed: the pupils stood at a distance of 20 metres from each other on the closed runway with their backs to the sound source. As soon as the sound - a loud megaphone call or a fire engine siren - was heard, each child who recognised the sound raised a signal flag. This made it possible to visualise the spread of the sound event from a distance. "We were able to illustrate that the sound of a siren can propagate over a distance of almost 2,000 metres, even in a somewhat stormy crosswind, before the sound event is lost in the ambient noise," says Mellert. The pupils were thus able to gain direct experience of sound propagation outdoors and experience the basic physical principles of acoustics live.

The ZDF programme "pur +" gets to the bottom of everyday questions of physics. One of the upcoming programmes is dedicated to the topic of acoustics: How quickly does sound propagate? Does "loud sound" travel faster? Can sound evaporate? How far does sound travel? These are the central questions of the experiment, which was elaborately staged with seven cameras by journalist Eva Werdich on behalf of ZDF. The realisation of the experiment took almost a whole day of filming. The programme will be repeated on Sunday, 4 September on Kika at 7.25 pm.