Instrument Size & Wavelength: What's the Relationship?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the relationship between the size of instruments and the wavelengths they are designed to measure, exploring concepts in general relativity and other fields. Participants examine the implications of instrument size on wave detection and resonance phenomena.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants inquire about the necessity of large instruments for detecting large wavelengths and question why smaller wavelengths cannot be detected with larger instruments.
  • Others mention that certain instruments must have dimensions comparable to the wavelength to facilitate resonance, suggesting a relationship between instrument size and detection capabilities.
  • One participant draws an analogy between musical instruments, stating that just as a piccolo cannot sound like a tuba, there are limitations in wave detection based on instrument size.
  • There are references to fundamental limits related to noise and information, indicating that optimizing instrument size involves trade-offs between signal-to-noise ratio and specificity of detection.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the relationship between instrument size and wavelength detection, and the discussion remains unresolved with no consensus reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not fully defined the parameters of their questions, and there are unresolved assumptions regarding the principles governing instrument sizing and resonance.

accdd
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What is the relationship between the size of the instrument and the wavelength you want to measure? Both in general relativity and in other areas.
 
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There are many limits which look like Heisenberg Uncertainty relations that follow from the Cauchy-Schwartz Inequality. Like diffraction limits for a camera.
What is your particular question?
 
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Why do we need large instruments to detect waves with large wavelengths? Why can't we detect smaller wavelength waves with large instruments (and viceversa)?
I have also read that some instruments must have dimensions comparable to the wavelength that allows the phenomenon of resonance. What are the general principles for sizing an instrument?
 
accdd said:
Why do we need large instruments to detect waves with large wavelengths? Why can't we detect smaller wavelength waves with large instruments (and viceversa)?
For the same reason that one cannot make a piccolo sound like a tuba.
accdd said:
I have also read that some instruments must have dimensions comparable to the wavelength that allows the phenomenon of resonance. What are the general principles for sizing an instrument?
It depends upon what you are trying to optimize. There are fundamental limits that deal with noise and information. Resonance allows maximizing signal to noise but the cost is specificity of detection.
 
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hutchphd said:
For the same reason that one cannot make a piccolo sound like a tuba.
Did you know that the opening of The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky is a bassoon played in a high register?

 
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PeroK said:
id you know that the opening of The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky is a bassoon played in a high register?
Hence the rioting at the premiere.
 
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