A modular experimental system for teaching fluid dynamics with Faraday waves

Abstract

We describe a modular setup for the observation of Faraday waves on a vibrating bath. 
The setup will be used as a project exercise on fluid dynamics in a first year course on experimental physics at 
Aarhus University as well as for future research on fluids. As a demonstration of the setup, the acceleration threshold 
for the onset of Faraday waves on a silicone oil bath as a function of the driving frequency is measured and compared to thresholds 
calculated using different existing models. The possibility to characterize surface waves with the system 
is demonstrated by recording and analyzing images of Faraday waves, e.g. showing explicitly that the Faraday waves in the present 
case are subharmonic, and establishing the dispersion relation for the waves.