40 sec Exploding Wine Glass
Exploding Wine Glass

This is a video taken of a wine glass being broken with a sound wave provided by a speaker just behind the glass. The frequency of the sound wave is tuned to the resonant frequency of the shape oscillations in the wine glass. The pressure fluctuation from each sound wave provides a small force to distort the glass. Since these small distortions are provided resonantly their amplitude builds up until the distortions are so large that the glass breaks. The shape oscillations are clearly visible in the image before the glass shatters. After the explosion you can clearly see the black drape moving from the speaker directly behind it.