To make a tin can telephone, you need two paper cups, a piece of kite string or thread up to 100 feet and tape. First, you need to punch a tiny hole in the center of the cup's bottom. You use a pin or sewing needle for this.
Does a tin can phone work with a string?
Yes, it does, though it has distance limitations. A tin can and string phone works using a string instead of an electrical current to transport the sound vibrations. What kind of string do you use for a tin can phone? A tin can phone typically uses a tight, non-stretchable thread or string to transmit sound.
What is the medium of tin can telephone?
In the case of tin can telephone the medium is a string. Before the invention of the electromagnetic telephone, there were mechanical acoustic devices for transmitting spoken words and music over a distance greater than that of normal speech.
What do you need to make a string phone?
A basic string phone can be made with supplies you’re likely to have around the house. If you want to get really scientific, try out a variety of “receivers” and types of string. You’ll need two cans or cups. These can be recycled soup cans, plastic party cups or paper cups.
Are tin can or plastic cup telephones good for kids?
Experimenting with tin can or plastic cup telephones can be a great boredom buster for kids! Kids growing up in the smartphone generation will be amazed at how something as simple as STRING can transmit sound. Granted, tin can phones aren’t the most practical communication device.
Does twine work on tin can phones?
Learn more physics! We mad several tin-can telephones with different materials for the string. We used fishing line, plastic twine, plastic lanyard, and cotton twine. The cotton twine worked the best...do you know why?Oct 22, 2007
Do tin cans work on strings?
0:356:14Does TALKING through CANS and STRING WORK? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNow how it works when you talk into the one can your voice turns into vibrations which travel alongMoreNow how it works when you talk into the one can your voice turns into vibrations which travel along the string they come out the other can but if the string is loose the vibrations are lost.
How do you make a tin can phone string?
0:323:09How to Make Tin Can Telephones for Kids - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe nail into the top of the canned. And then just wiggle it around a little bit and that's gonna beMoreThe nail into the top of the canned. And then just wiggle it around a little bit and that's gonna be your hole for the string.
How do you make a phone string?
0:041:38Make Your Own String Phone | One Stop Science Shop - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNow take the two cups. Focus off on the bottom of each brush. Now thread the string through it. AndMoreNow take the two cups. Focus off on the bottom of each brush. Now thread the string through it. And time off as you tend to prevent the threat from pulling out to the cup.
Does the string cup phone work?
A string telephone works very much like a landline phone. When you talk into the cup your voice sends sound waves inside the cup, vibrating the bottom of the cup. The vibrations are transferred to the string, across the string and into the bottom of the other cup.
Can Phone string?
Description: The tin can telephone is made of a string connecting two tin cans or paper cups. When the sender talks into one side it vibrates air in the cup which vibrates the bottom of the cup. This vibration is transferred through the string and received at the other end by sound.May 3, 2018
What material did you use for your toy telephone?
Plastic is a little easier to work with than metal. Styrofoam cups do not work well because they are soft and spongy and absorb sound instead of transmitting it. In a pinch, you can use disposable paper cups, but plastic and metal take more wear-and-tear.
What is a tin can telephone?
Even today's kids, used to smartphones with dozens of advanced features, can enjoy the classic tin-can telephone. This simple do-it-yourself toy uses basic principles of acoustics to connect two users through a length of string.
How long should a phone string be?
Any length of string can work, but a length of 10-30 feet is ideal; the string needs to be taut for the phone to work well, making longer lengths a challenge.
What causes a tin can to vibrate?
The sound waves created by speech cause the can to vibrate. This in turn causes the string to vibrate. When these vibrations reach the can at the far end, it also vibrates, acting like a speaker to transmit the sound. References. Education.com: Tin Can Phone.
How to make a can with a nail?
Place the nail in the center of the bottom of the first can and lightly tap a hole in it using the hammer. If the can has jagged edges where the lid was removed, you don't want little ones putting it to their faces; wrap the edges in duct tape to blunt them. Repeat this process for the second can. Allow kids to personalize the cans by decorating them with stickers, markers or paint.
How to keep string from slipping through a can?
Thread one end of the string through the first can (it’s easier if you apply a small piece of scotch tape to the frayed end), tying a knot to prevent the string from slipping back through the hole. Thread the opposite end of the string through the other tin can, again tying a knot.
Who invented the lover's phone?
Its inventor, a 17 th century British physicist named Robert Hooke, discovered a way to hear one speak through a wall a yard thick.
What is a tin can telephone?
A tin can telephone is a type of acoustic (non-electrical) speech-transmitting device made up of two tin cans, paper cups or similarly shaped items attached to either end of a taut string or wire.
How does a tin can phone work?
The highly similar acoustic tin can telephone, or 'lover's phone', has also been known for centuries. It connects two diaphragms with a taut string or wire, which transmits sound by mechanical vibrations from one to the other along the wire (and not by a modulated electric current ).
When was the telephone invented?
The very earliest mechanical telephones were based on sound transmission through pipes or other physical media, and among the very earliest experiments were those conducted by the British physicist and polymath Robert Hooke from 1664 to 1685 . From 1664 to 1665 Hooke experimented with sound transmission through a taut distended wire. An acoustic string phone is attributed to him as early as 1667.
What happens when a string is pulled taut?
When the string is pulled taut and someone speaks into one of the cans, its bottom acts as a diaphragm, converting the sound waves into longitudinal mechanical vibrations which vary the tension of the string. These variations in tension set up longitudinal waves in the string which travel to the second can, causing its bottom to vibrate in a similar manner as the first can, thus recreating the sound, which is heard by the second person.
What is the idea behind a tin can?
The idea is to have a diaphragm that vibrates and pulls on the string connecting the cans. The base of a tin (or more likely, steel) can is very stiff and is rigidly attached to the side of the can.
Is heavy rope good for sewing?
Sewing thread should be good. Heavy rope is a bad idea -- lots of internal rubbing happens when it’s pulled on. The longer the string is, the more lossy it will be (again, internal friction, and also some coupling to the air), so put the cans/cups close together.
Can you put an ear horn on one end?
If you just want loudness at a very small, localized spot, you can put an ear horn on one end, which you can hold up to your ear to focus whatever acoustic energy you get out into your ear with as little loss as possible. Tom. (published on 10/22/2007) Follow-up on this answer.
How to make a tin can telephone?
To make a tin can telephone, you need two paper cups, a piece of kite string or thread up to 100 feet and tape. First, you need to punch a tiny hole in the center of the cup's bottom. You use a pin or sewing needle for this. Next, you need to tie a knot or tape the string at both ends.
How do vibrations travel through a string?
The vibrations travel through the string by pulling the string back and forth. Therefore, the bottom of the second cup should start to vibrate back and forth just like the bottom of the first cup is vibrating, producing sound waves. The second person can hear the sound waves and can therefore hear what the first person says.
How does a telephone work?
This is not much different from how a telephone works, except that electric current replaces the string in a telephone. In an old-style telephone, the person speaking vibrates a metal diaphragm. The diaphragm's vibrations rapidly compress and uncompressed carbon granules, changing their resistance. A current passing through ...
How does a current pass through a granule?
A current passing through the granules is strengthened or lessened by the changing resistance. At the other end, the rapidly changing current runs through a speaker and causes its diaphragm to vibrate back and forth, so the second person hears the first person speaking. See How Telephones Work for details.
What happens when you talk into a cup?
Here is why it works. When one person talks into his/her cup, the bottom of the cup vibrates back and forth with the sound waves.
How does a radio work?
In a radio, the changing current from the microphone is used to modulate a radio transmitter. The modulations are sent through the air to a radio receiver, which turns the modulations into the vibrations of a speaker, and the second person hears the first person speaking.
Can two cans and a string talk?
Can two cans and a string really be used to talk over a distance? The old "two cans and a string" technique (or better yet, "two paper cups and a string") really does work. The key is to make sure that the string is tight between the two cups, and this normally means that the distance is limited and the two people have to be connected ...
How to make a sound in a cup?
Scissors. Use the scissors to poke a little hole in the bottom of each cup. String a piece of twine between the cups. Use a long piece of string to help the sound travel farther. Tie a knot in the end of the string to keep it in the cup. Decorate the cups if desired.
How do sound waves form in a string?
String Telephone Explanation. Sound waves are created when sounds make vibrations in the air. In this activity, your voice vibrates the air inside the cup, which are then transferred to the bottom of the cup. The bottom of the cup passes the sound waves to the string, and so on to the other cup. You can hear surprisingly far using ...
Can you hear far with a string phone?
You can hear surprisingly far using a string telephone if help the right way! If the string is kept tight, the sound waves will travel. If the string is loose, the sound is less. This is because the lose string causes the vibrations to travel all around rather than directly down the string. Try experimenting with different lengths ...
How to tie string around toothpick?
You can tie the string around a little piece of a toothpick if you can't get it to stay with just a knot. Place the untied end of the string through the bottom of the other can or cup. Tie a knot, as before, and pull the string tight. Get a partner.
Why don't styrofoam cups work?
Styrofoam cups do not work well because they are soft and spongy and absorb sound instead of transmitting it. In a pinch, you can use disposable paper cups, but plastic and metal take more wear-and-tear. 2. Punch a hole at the bottom of each can just small enough for string to fit through.
How to make a phone out of a tin can?
First, cover the sharp edges around the open side of the can with the duct tape. Next, let the kids decorate their tin can phone however they’d like. Once they’ve finished their masterpieces, flip the cans upside down so their open end is against a flat surface with the close end facing up.
How does sound travel through a tin can?
Sound travels through waves and vibrations. With our tin can telephone, speaking into one can then sends the sound vibrations through the string to the other can! When you speak into the can, your voice creates air vibrations that travel into the can, vibrate the bottom of the can, which in turn vibrates the string all the way over to ...
How to make a can out of a can?
Use the hammer and nail to punch a hole into the closed end of the can. Remove the nail and poke one end of the string through. Knot the string inside the can so that the knot cannot be pulled out. Repeat with the other end of the string in the other can.
