Apparatus for the Measurement of Physical Constants by the Elastic Vibrations Method

This paper constitutes an elementary introduction to the technique of measurement of elastic properties of matter by ultrasonics, and is divided into three parts. The first part reviews briefly the classical theories of elasticity. In the second part, the more common methods of measurement are surveyed, with particular reference to the pulse method. Finally, a versatile equipment is described which has been used with satisfactory results for testing samples of gases, liquids and solids of several sizes ranging approximately from 1 to 5 cm. in length. The equipment is designed to cover a frequency range of from 0.5 to 50 Mc/s, a temperature range of from 0° to 100°C and pressures up to 10,000 kg/cm2.