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In this report, I describe an experimental analysis of the acoustic mechanism of the suikinkutsu. The sound of the suikinkutsu
consists of an original sound generated by water drops striking the surface of the water in the suikinkutsu and a reverberant
sound generated by the original sound. The reverberant sound is the sound we hear through the observation holes of the
suikinkutsu. The body of the suikinkutsu also has its own natural frequencies and vibrates in synchronism with the natural
frequencies of the oscillation modes of air inside it, affecting the tonal quality of the sound emitted from the suikinkutsu. If all
of the natural frequencies and time constants of the reverberant sound are optimized, the suikinkutsu can produce a sound of
good tonal quality. In this study, we investigate the relationships between the original sound and the reverberant sound emitted
from the suikinkutsu. We propose an experimental formula representing the natural frequencies of the suikinkutsu and
examine the validity of this formula. [DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.43.6429]
KEYWORDS: suikinkutsu, drop, splash, bubble, underwater sound, proper vibration of suikinkutsu
Reservoir
Valve
Watch glass
Pan
Microphone
1cm
36cm
36cm
38cm
Water surface
Suikinkutsu 10cm
(a) 1 s (b) 6 s
Fig. 4. Apparatus for measuring reverberant sound emitted from suikin- Fig. 5. Comparison of droplets dropping from undersurface of watch glass
kutsu. observed when drop periods of fall were 1 s and 6 s, respectively.
6432 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE
A B C D
E F G H
0.2 E F 0.2
E
A B C D G H A B G H
0.1 0.1 C D F
Amplitude
Amplitude
0 0
-0.1 -0.1
-0.2 -0.2
180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380
time (ms)
time (ms)
(b) Sound measured in air (c) Sound measured underwater
Fig. 6. (a) Droplets striking surface of water and bubble formed by droplets. The drop period was 6 s and the drop distance was
36.5 cm. The frequency of the sounds generated by droplets striking the surface of the water was measured. Amplitudes of sound
measured by (b) a microphone set 5 cm from and at 45 to the water surface of water, and (c) microphone set in the water at a depth
of 5 cm.
first and second subsequent droplets striking the concave pulsed sounds generated by the dominant droplet (B) and the
surface formed by the dominant droplet (Shot D); a bubble first subsequent droplet (D).
formed by the subsequent droplets (Short E); a column of Minnaert obtained a formula for the resonance frequency
water formed by the repercussion of the dominant droplet, of a bubble,9)
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
absorbing the bubble (Shorts F and G); and the resultant 1 3p
bubble floating on the water (Short H). The other subsequent f ¼ ð1Þ
droplets have such small volumes that they fail to generate d
other bubbles. In the example shown herein, the crown- Here, d is the bubble diameter, is the specific-heat ratio of
shaped cavity had a diameter of approximately 3.8 cm and a air in the bubble, is the water density, and p is the ambient
depth of 3.0 cm. pressure. In the example shown herein, d ¼ 0:77 cm, ¼
Figures 6(b) and 6(c) respectively show the amplitudes of 1:4, ¼ 1:0 g/cm3 , p ¼ 1:0 106 dyn/cm2 , for which the
the sound generated by the droplet striking the surface of the resonance frequency calculated by formula (1) is 848 Hz,
water. The symbol A–H in these figures indicate the which is very close to the measured frequency of about
respective times of shots shown in Fig. 6(a). As is shown 850 Hz of the main original sound.
in Figs. 6(b) and 6(c), the generation of the bubble (E) Figure 7(a) shows the profile of the original sound
accompanies the generation of the original sound. The generated by the bubble in the water tank, and shows that
measured frequency of the original sound was about 850 Hz. the frequency of the original sound is 850 Hz and has a
The diameter of the bubble was about 0.75 to 0.80 cm, as duration of approximately 0.1 s. Figure 7(b) shows that the
shown in Fig. 6(a). Figure 6(c) further shows the sharp, profile of the reverberant sound emitted by the suikinkutsu,
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE 6433
850 Hz
Frequency (Hz)
(a) Original sound
904
1302
1022 1281
581 635 1378 1561 1733
1248
Frequency (Hz)
(b) Reverberant sound
Fig. 7. Original sound and reverberant sound emitted by Hana Suikinkutsu as observed for drop period set to 6 s and drop distance to
36.5 cm. (a) Power spectral density of original sound generated by drops that struck surface of water in tank. (b) For reverberant sound
emitted by the suikinkutsu. The power spectral density of the sound observed through the observation hole on the side face of the
suikinkutsu was measured.
from which one sees that the duration of the reverberant detected in the frequency range from 635 to 904 Hz in the
sound is about 1.0 s. reverberant sound. More particularly, the frequency of the
The measurements of these profiles of Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) original sound is not the same as the frequency of the
were carried out under the same conditions, that is, the drop reverberant sound. It should also be noted that the major
distance was 36.5 cm and the drop period was 6 s. Since the reverberant sound frequencies are higher than the frequency
original sound is generated under the same conditions in the of the original sound. The reverberant sound generated by
tank and suikinkutsu, it is clear that the reverberant sound is Hana Suikinkutsu as shown in Fig. 7(b) will be called the
generated by the original sound of about 850 Hz. The major ‘‘naive sound’’.
frequencies of the reverberant sound were 904, 1022, 1302 Table I lists the 10 modes of the naive sound shown in
and 1378 Hz. The minor frequencies were 581, 635, 1248, Fig. 7(b), characterized by wavelength , frequency f , and
1281, 1561 and 1733 Hz. It should be noted that no peak was time constant (defined to be the period of time that the
6434 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE
f
Mode No. Intensity
(Hz) (cm) (s)
1 581 59.04 0.22
2 635 54.02 0.40
3 904 37.94 0.29
5 1022 33.56 0.25
7 1248 27.48 0.36
8 1281 26.78 0.30
9 1302 26.34 1.10
10 1378 24.89 0.10
12 1561 21.97 0.18
13 1733 19.79 0.10
1700
1300
1100
900
700
s
500
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Drop period (s)
(a) Original sound 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
Frequency(Hz)
100
90 Fig. 10. Measured power spectral density of original sound when drop
period was 6 s and the drop distance was 70 cm.
80
70 904Hz
60 1302Hz
RFO(%)
Frequency (Hz)
30 1300
20 1100
10 900
0 700
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 500
Drop period (s) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
60 1302Hz
tends to incorporate different frequency components, and
that the average frequency and the frequency variation of the 50
original sound are small if the drop period is long. Therefore, 40 1378,
30 1733Hz
when the drop period is longer than 2 s and the drop distance
is 36.5 cm, a stable original sound having a frequency of 20
about 850 Hz results, and this original sound in turn 10
generates a reverberant sound that has a dominant mode 0
below 1 kHz. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Drop distance (cm)
2.3 Drop distance (b)Reverberant sound
We have seen in section 2.2 that droplets falling from a
height of 40 cm with a drop period of 6 s form a single large Fig. 11. (a) Measured frequencies of original sound generated by drops
bubble in the water, as shown in Fig. 8(b). Figure 8(c) shows that struck the surface of water in tank and (b) relative frequency of
occurrence (RFO) of frequency components of reverberant sound emitted
the shape of the bubble generated by droplets falling with the
by Hana Suikinkutsu when drop period was fixed to 6 s and drop distance
same drop period of 6 s but falling from a height of 50 cm. It was varied.
is seen from this figure that when the drop distance is 50 cm,
the first and second subsequent droplets strike the same point
on the water surface with a greater speed, which generate a with a small speed and, as a result, generate a smaller bubble
long, slender and large bubble. However, the bubble will that has a high frequency.
instantly break up into two or three smaller bubbles each Figure 11(a) shows the average frequency and frequency
having a high frequency according to eq. (1). When the drop variation of the original sound when the drop period is 6 s
distance is 70 cm, the bubbles generate a high-frequency when drop distance is varied in the range from 10 to 80 cm.
band, as shown in Fig. 10. On the other hand, if the drop The average frequency decreases as drop distance increases
distance is less than 40 cm and the drop period is 6 s, the first from 10 to 36 cm. However, it increases with drop distance
and second subsequent droplets will strike the water surface when the drop distance exceeds 36 cm. That is, the average
6436 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE
-50
500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900
Frequency (Hz)
(a) Pan installed -70
500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900
Power spectral density (arb. units)
100 1600
632 Frequency (Hz)
10 1610
1590
1386 (1762)
1219 1371
40 (1685) (1914)
1010
-30 628
500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900
Frequency (Hz)
(b) Pan removed -50
Fig. 13. Power spectral density of sound emitted from Hana Suikinkutsu
when struck by hand on body at point where body has maximum outer
diameter, with pan (a) set on top of the suikinkutsu and (b) removed. The -70
500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900
length of the air column was set to 36 cm.
Frequency (Hz)
(b) Pan removed
With the pan set on the top of the suikinkutsu, four major
natural frequencies of the suikinkutsu body were observed, Fig. 14. Measured power spectral density of elastic vibrations of Hana
namely, 630, 1022, 1246 and 1378 Hz, along with a strong Suikinkutsu body struck with hammer at pont of its maximum outer
band in the range from 1578 to 1600 Hz. These frequencies diameter, when length of air column was set to 36 cm, with pan (a) set on
are nearly identical to the major frequencies of the naive top of the suikinkutsu and (b) removed.
sound emitted by the suikinkutsu as shown in Fig. 7(b),
which appear at 635, 1022, 1248, and 1378 Hz. A strong are 624, 1010, 1229, 1376, 1595, 1685, 1757 and 1914 Hz.
band in the range from 1578 to 1600 Hz is not observed in Of these, the lower five major natural frequencies are very
Fig. 7(b). 1246 Hz is about twice the value of 630 Hz. The close to 630, 1022, 1248, 1378, and a frequency band
peaks at 581, 904, 1281, 1302, 1561 and 1733 Hz in ranging from 1578 to 1600 Hz of the sounds generated by
Fig. 7(b) are not observed in the sounds emitted by the striking the suikinkutsu body by hand, as shown in
suikinkutsu. Fig. 13(a), but the remaining three higher frequencies are
To clarify the relationship between the sound generated not. Furthermore, the intensities of the modes shown in
by the suikinkutsu body struck by hand and the normal mode Fig. 13(a) are nearly the same, while the intensity of the
of the suikinkutsu body itself, we utilized an acceleration modes shown in Fig. 14(a) increases with frequency.
pickup that is adopted to detect the vibrations of an object Of the frequencies of the sound in Fig. 13(a), 635, 1022,
itself and has a hammer for striking the object to set the 1248 and 1378 Hz have corresponding counterparts in
object in vibration. In the experiments, the suikinkutsu body Fig. 7(b). These four frequencies are the natural frequencies
was struck with a hammer at the same position as it was of the cavity associated with the natural vibrations of the
struck by hand with and without the pan on the suikinkutsu suikinkutsu body, and substantially exhibit the same fre-
body. When the pan was set, the level of the water was quencies with and without the pan. Thus they are transverse
altered to adjust the height of the air column to 36 cm. modes of the cavity.
Figures 14(a) and 14(b) respectively show the frequency To understand the mechanism of the reflection and
profiles of the suikinkutsu body measured with the accel- absorption of the sound echoing in the cavity by the
eration pickup. It is understood from these figures that the suikinkutsu body, the frequency measurement of the
frequencies of the normal modes with the pan set on the top suikinkutsu sound was repeated with the suikinkutsu body
are substantially the same as those of the sounds observed wrapped with clay to a thickness of 2 cm. Figure 15 shows
without the pan. The major natural frequencies of vibration the results of the measurements, which compares with
6438 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE
800Hz
904Hz
700Hz
1012Hz
581Hz
s s
(a) Input signal frequency (700Hz) (b) Input signal frequency (800Hz)
1200Hz 1600Hz
s 1281Hz
s 1561Hz
1238Hz
(c) Input signal frequency (1200Hz) (d) Input signal frequency (1600Hz)
Fig. 16. Change in frequency profiles of sound emitted by Hana Suikinkutsu with time, measured while turning speaker on or off set
directly above water hole of the suikinkutsu when frequencies of the input signal were (a) 700 Hz, (b) 800 Hz, (c) 1200 Hz, and
(d) 1600 Hz.
Table II. Frequencies and intensities of modes of the naive sound (Naive);
60 1 hand-struck Suikinkutsu sound (Hand); speaker-induced sound (Speaker),
and types of modes appearing in Fig. 17 (Type). Intensities are classified
55 into strong ( ), medium ( ), weak ( ), and zero (). Types of modes
2 induced: ‘‘Longi’’ (longitudinal mode), ‘‘Trans’’ (transverse mode),
‘‘Mixed’’ (longitudinal mode mixed with transverse mode).
50
Mode No. Naive Hand Speaker Type
45
Wavelength λ (cm)
sound emitted by hand-struck Suikinkustu body (hand), Table III. Turning points of cylindrical Bessel function of order N.
speaker-induced sound (speaker), and the types of modes NM M¼0 1 2 3 4
shown in Fig. 17 (rightmost column). The symbols , , , N¼0 0.000 3.832 7.016 10.17 13.32
and respectively represent strong, medium, weak, and 1 1.872 5.332 8.536 11.71 14.86
zero intensities. ‘‘Longi’’ stands for the longitudinal mode, 2 3.132 6.707 9.970 13.17 16.35
‘‘Mixed’’ stands for the longitudinal mode mixed with the 3 4.339 8.018 11.35 14.59 17.79
transverse mode, ‘‘Trans’’ stands for the transverse mode.
Measurement of the hand-struck and speaker-induced
sounds were made for the same air column of 36 cm as in the
case of the naive sound, so that the modes of hand-struck and where R and L are the radius and height (longitudinal length)
speaker-induced sounds can be compared with the naive- of the cylindrical cavity, respectively, C is the speed of
sound modes numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13. sound, S is a zero or positive integer and NM is the M-th
It is noted that the hand-struck sound exhibit substantially solution that renders the first derivative of an N-th order
the same frequency modes with and without the pan, which cylindrical Bessel function to vanish. The NM values are
implies that these frequencies modes (modes 2, 5, 7 and 10) shown in Table III.
are transverse modes. Therefore, those modes that appear in For a hemispherical space, the natural frequency fNS can
either the naive or speaker-induced sound but do not appear be expressed by eq. (3) with L being the radius of the
in the hand-struck sound (1, 3, 8, 9, 12 and 13 marked ) are spherical space.11)
attributed to either the longitudinal modes of the cavity or
C NS
the transverse modes of the cavity that do not resonate with fNS ¼ ð3Þ
2 L
any of the vibration modes of the suikinkutsu body.
Since the speaker is arranged to transmit sound in the Here, NS is the S-th solution that causes the first derivative
longitudinal direction, the speaker is more likely to induce a of an N-th order spherical Bessel function to vanish.
longitudinal sound. Therefore, modes 2, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 13 Imposing a boundary condition that the normal component
missing in the speaker column (marked ) can be attributed of the fluid particle velocity of air is zero on the surface of
to the transverse modes. On the other hand, modes 1, 3, 8 the water, the lowest order N possible must be zero. Four
and 12 are associated (in one way or the other) with the major values of 0S are shown in Table IV.
longitudinal modes of the cavity, in that they do not appear In actuality, however, the cavity of Hana Suikinkutsu has
in the speaker column. Of these modes, 1 and 3 respectively a hemispherical space on top and a flat surface of the water
belong to Types A (longitudinal mode) and C (mixed mode) at the bottom. Thus, the equation describing the natural
in accordance with the classification of the modes shown in frequency of the suikinkutsu cavity can be approximated by
Fig. 17. an interpolating eqs. (2) and (3). We therefore propose the
It should be noted that the mode analysis given above is in following interpolation formula for the frequency fNMS of the
good harmony with the classification of modes based on the cavity in the actual suikinkutsu.
data in Fig. 17. Thus, one may conclude the following: sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2ffi
modes 1 and 4 are longitudinal modes; modes 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, C NM 2 S
13 and 14 are transverse modes; modes 3, 6 and 11 are partly fNMS ¼ þ ð4Þ
2 R L
longitudinal modes (i.e. mixed modes). However, modes 8
and 12 cannot be determined definitely on the same basis as Here, S is an empirical longitudinal mode factor introduced
that for other modes. They can be either longitudinal or to interpolate eqs. (2) and (3), and hence is in the range
mixed modes. The determination of the type of these modes
S < S < 0S : ð5Þ
will be further discussed in the next section.
The inner radius R of Hana Suikinkutsu changes with the
3. Natural Frequency Mode of Suikinkutsu height of body from the bottom. R is taken as the radius of
Hereafter, we will discuss a formula for calculating the the cavity at the midpoint of the axis of the cavity. Table V
frequency of the vibration mode of the cavity of the lists values of R in association with seven lengths L of the
suikinkutsu, based on an interpolation of two formulas cavity. Considering the shape of the suikinkutsu, the radius
applicable to a cylindrical cavity and to a spherical cavity. of the cavity establishing transverse modes therein can be
The cavity of Hana Suikinkutsu has a circular transverse estimated to be in the range from 16.0 to 17.3 cm, based on
cross section, which is maximum in the middle of the cavity
and decreases toward the upper section of the cavity, as
shown in Fig. 3. The upper section of the cavity is covered Table IV. Turning points of spherical Bessel function of order 0.
with a pan having a flat undersurface and a spherically NS S¼0 1 2 3
curved wall. The bottom boundary of the cavity is the
N¼0 0.000 4.493 7.725 10.904
surface of water.
For an enclosed cylindrical cavity, the natural frequency
fNMS of the cavity can be calculated using11)
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 Table V. Length L and radius R of air column.
C NM 2 S
fNMS ¼ þ ; ð2Þ L (cm) 24.0 26.0 28.0 30.0 32.0 34.0 36.0
2 R L
R (cm) 16.0 16.5 16.8 17 17.3 16.8 16.5
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE 6441
the data listed in Table V. shown in Fig. 17 and Table VI, respectively, only for the
For each mode that can be predicted from Table II, we mixed mode. Mode 8 also has only one measured frequency.
insert the measured frequency of the mode along with L and However, it is found in the above calculation that this is the
R of the air column, transverse mode factor NM , and only possible longitudinal mode. To simplify Fig. 17,
longitudinal mode factor S on the left-hand and right-hand neither measured frequency data nor the solid curve for
sides of eq. (4). If eq. (4) holds, we can say that the mode Mode 8 is shown.
associated with the mode factor NM and S exists. An It is very important to note that eq. (4) can be applied to
approach to determine a specific mode that satisfies eq. (4) all of the measured data, irrespective of whether data
will now be shown below by way of example. belongs to a longitudinal mode, a transverse mode, or a
For transverse modes, NS ¼ 0, the measured frequency of mixed mode. Thus the proposed interpolation formula can
a candidate mode and the NM selected from Table III are fully describe the acoustic modes of the air column in the
inserted in eq. (4) to determine the value of R. If R is found cavity of the suikinkutsu. Note that the formula can basically
in the narrow range from 16.0 to 17.3 cm, then it implies that determine the pertinent transverse or longitudinal mode from
a transverse mode exists, which is associated with the one measured data. Also it can determine the pertinent
transverse mode factor NM and R is the radius of the mixed mode from two measured data.
resonating air column.
For longitudinal modes, NM ¼ 0, the measured frequen- 4. Conclusion
cy of a candidate mode is inserted in eq. (4) along with the The suikinkutsu sound consists of an original sound
value of L to determine S . If S is in the range of inequality generated by free-falling droplets striking the surface of the
(5), then it is equal to the magnitude of the longitudinal water in the suikinkutsu and a reverberant sound generated
mode factor S . by the original sound. The original sound was regenerated
For mixed modes selected from Fig. 17, at least two sets using a watch glass and a water tank in the geometry shown
of a measured frequency of the mode, possible R and L in Fig. 2. The original sound was detected with a micro-
selected from Table IV, and a possible NM are inserted in phone.
eq. (4) to determine S . If S is bound, then NM and S (1) When a drop falls from the watch glass, it splits into a
constitute a unique set of transverse and longitudinal mode sequence of droplets before they strike the surface of the
factors. water in the tank. The original sound consists of pulse-
In this way, except for Mode 12, NM , S , and R are shaped sounds generated by the dominant and subsequent
uniquely determined for the respective modes as shown in droplets striking the surface and the sound induced by the
Table VI. Based on these values, the frequency of each bubble that is generated by the first and second subsequent
mode is calculated as a function of L using eq. (4) and droplets striking the concave surface, which is formed by the
plotted by solid curves in Fig. 17. It is seen that the plots are dominant droplets. It is thought that the pulse-shaped sounds
in very good agreement with the plot of the measured can easily propagate in water and stimulate the natural
frequencies. elastic modes of the suikinkutsu body, whose modes in turn
For Mode 12, eq. (4) enables the determination of two activate the corresponding (i.e., resonating) natural modes of
different sets of (NM , S ): one for the longitudinal mode (0, air in the cavity, thereby creating reverberant sound. On the
10.29) and another for the mixed mode (4.339, 4.30). other hand, the sound generated by the bubble stimulates air
However, since only one measured frequency is available for in the cavity and also generates a reverberant sound, which
Mode 12, it is not possible to conclude that it is a mixed will produce resonance in the suikinkutsu body. We are
mode. The solid line and the mode factor for Mode 12 are presently concerned, however, mainly with the latter sound
since it is thought that the latter sound is conventionally
utilized as the reverberant sound of the suikinkutsu.
Table VI. Longitudinal and transverse mode factors and radius used in (2) A suikinkutsu capable of generating favorable sound,
eq. (4) for 14 modes, along with mode type. or sound of good tonal quality, must have an intense, low-
frequency and reproducible original sound generated by a
R
Mode No. NM S
(cm)
Mode large bubble oscillating with a large amplitude. More
particularly, there are three criteria for a suikinkutsu of
1 0 3.80 0 Longi
good tonal quality.
2 1.872 0 16.09 Trans
a) A large bubble can be formed by a large drop falling
3 1.872 4.33 — Mixed
from a clean, wide, level undersurface, such as the
4 0 6.50 0 Longi
undersurface of a watch glass. If the first and second
5 3.132 0 16.70 Trans
subsequent droplets are small, the drop distance must be
6 3.132 4.49 — Mixed
larger for the large bubble. When the drop distance is
7 3.832 0 16.70 Trans
increased, the subsequent droplets can generate a large
8 1.872 7.38 — Mixed
bubble, which, however, is very likely to instantly break
9 3.832 0 16.07 Trans
up into two or three smaller bubbles.
10 4.339 0 17.20 Trans
b) The drop period must be larger than 2.0 s. This ensures
11 3.132 6.45 — Mixed
the realization and reproduction of the low-frequency
12 4.339 4.03 — Mixed
original sound. If the drop period is short, the first and
13 5.332 0 16.50 Trans
second subsequent droplets mostly generate two small
14 7.016 0 16.50 Trans
bubbles, instead of a single large bubble.
6442 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE
c) The drop distance must be in the range from 30 to 40 cm natural frequency of the typical transverse mode of the
for three reasons: First, the frequency of the original cavity. This mode also has an exceedingly high sound
sound becomes minimum for a drop distance of about pressure and an exceedingly large time constant of 1.10 s.
36 cm. Second, the intensity of the dominant original This frequency is important for the tonal quality of the
sound becomes maximum at a drop distance of about suikinkutsu. 1022 Hz is the natural frequency of the trans-
50 cm. Third, the reproducibility of the original sound verse mode of the cavity, which happens to be close to that
decreases at a drop distance above 40 cm. of the natural elastic frequencies of the suikinkutsu body. It
If these criteria are satisfied, the frequency of the original seems, therefore, that the transverse mode of the cavity is in
sound will be about 850 Hz. The original sound of Hana resonance with that of the suikinkutsu body. The mode has a
Suikinkutsu is obtained by setting the drop distance to high sound pressure and a time constant of 0.25 s. 1378 Hz is
36.5 cm. It should be understood that in actuality many the natural frequency of another transverse mode of the
suikinkutsus are manufactured to have a drop distance larger cavity, similar to the transverse mode of 1022 Hz, and the
than 40 cm, probably based on the manufacturers’ experi- sound at this frequency has a high sound pressure. In fact,
ence that a large drop distance will ensure the formation of a the natural frequency of the mode is very close to that of the
bubble of adequate size even after the drop-forming under- suikinkutsu body. However, this mode has a time constant of
surface gets stained in the course of use for months. For a 0.1 s, which is much shorter than that of the 1022 Hz mode.
drop distance above 40 cm, however, the reproducibility of This implies that this transverse mode is not in appreciable
the original sound decreases It should be also understood resonance with the suikinkutsu body as much as the 1022 Hz
that the drop distance is made much larger than 40 cm in mode.
order to generate an intense pulsed original sound if the (6) In this study, we have shown that intimate interference
pulse-shaped original sound is used as the source of the or resonance exists between the natural transverse modes of
reverberant sound. the cavity and the elastic vibration mode of the suikinkutsu
(3) The sounds emitted by the suikinkutsu were examined body. Thus, we have verified the usefulness of the well-
with special intensity interest in the mechanism of how the known means of assessing the tonal quality of the suikin-
natural elastic modes of the suikinkutsu body and the natural kutsu by striking it by hand and hearing the sound emitted
modes of air in the cavity can be formed and can interact therefrom. In other words, the tonal quality of the suikin-
with each other. To elucidate the elastic modes of the kutsu may be estimated by striking its body by hand.
suikinkutsu body, we observed the vibration of the body The suikinkutsu is normally buried underground and
using an acceleration pickup. The changes in the vibration loosely surrounded by broken pieces of rock as shown in
mode of the suikinkutsu were observed by wrapping the Fig. 1. The suikinkutsu preferably have a hard thin wall
suikinkutsu with clay. To check the possible resonance of made of porcelain so that the suikinkutsu will not appreci-
the suikinkutsu body with air in the cavity, we observed the ably absorb the vibration modes of the air column and
sound generated by the suikinkutsu struck by hand. A maintain the elastic vibration of the body well.
speaker sound was input to the air column in the cavity from It should be understood that the frequency profile of the
the water hole to observe how the sound is transferred to the suikinkutsu sound as observed through a suimon or an
air column. Furthermore, to examine the modes of the observation hole is not necessarily the same as the frequency
cavity, the natural frequency of the reverberant sound was profile of the natural vibration modes in the cavity of the
measured for different heights of the pan relative to the suikinkutsu body, since the intensity and frequency distri-
water level in the suikinkutsu. butions of the sound in the cavity vary from one position to
(4) Our results are as follows: Hana Suikinkutsu, which another, so that the tone of the suikinkutsu sound greatly
has a typical movable suikinkutsu configuration, includes a depends on the position of the observation hole.
vase-shaped body similarly to other common suikinkutsus. There has been a trend in the art favoring suikinkutsus that
The natural frequencies of the sound emitted by Hana produce a sound having a frequency as low as 1 kHz and
Suikinkutsu can be calculated using eq. (4). This equation have good reproducibility of sound. Thus our examination
was obtained by interpolating a well-known formula was carried out focussing on such suikinkutsus. However,
describing the natural frequencies of a cylindrical cavity some people might prefer suikinkutsus that irregularly
and a semispherical cavity. The upper section of the cavity produce a diversified ‘‘waterdrop sound’’ or ‘‘streaming
consists of a flat end and a partially spherical wall. Possible sound’’. Therefore, we do not mean that this study is
longitudinal modes are determined by the configuration of exhaustive. We hope that further physical analyses of
the cavity. The inner radius of the suikinkutsu body at the suikinkutsu carried out to facilitate improvements of the
midpoint thereof is taken as the radius of the air column. The suikinkutsu, along with continuing experience of suikinkutsu
wavelengths calculated using eq. (4) are in good agreement manufactures.
with the measured values, as shown in Fig. 17.
(5) The natural frequencies of the dominant sounds Acknowledgments
emitted by Hana Suikinkutsu are 904, 1022, 1302, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the
1378 Hz. The duration of the dominant sounds is about 1 s, support of Professor A. Taniguchi and Professor H.
that is about 10 times as long as the duration of the original Matsumura who provided kind guidance, Mr. H. Tamura
sound. The frequencies of the original sound are not found in who lent us Hana Suikinkutsu for this experiment, and Mr.
this frequency domain. 904 Hz is the natural frequency of the M. Ueno and Mr. H. Ishihara who helped me conduct
mixed mode of the cavity. This mode has an extremely high experiments and measurements.
sound pressure and a time constant of 0.29 s. 1302 Hz is the
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 43, No. 9A (2004) Y. WATANABE 6443
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