Can Sound Shatter Glass

An opera singer belting out a note so loud it smashes a glass has long been a comedic image!

You might remember that in 1982 Ella Fitzgerald appeared in a TV ad for Memorex where she was shown breaking a glass with her incredible voice. Not to mention opera singer Caruso who claimed to achieved the feat with his voice; a rumour his wife soon quashed after his death!

Or what about the scene in 'Harry Potter' when the Fat Lady tries to break a glass with her operatic singing voice? When she fails to do so, she shatters the glass by hitting it off her picture frame - but tries to pass it off as a product of her talent!

Either she didn't know the secrets behind resonance breaking glass or she just wasn't a very good singer!

So: can it really be done? Can sound shatter glass?

The short answer is yes. However, the conditions are very specific and must be carried out properly. Simply place a pint glass next to your speakers, turn the music up loud and most likely the glass isn't going to break.

To break glass with sound the sound will have to match the natural frequency of a thin wine glass.

And to find the natural frequency (called resonance) - rub your finger round the rim until you discern a single note.

This is how Benjamin Franklin first recognised the tones that he went on to play after inventing his own glass armonica.

Once you know the resonance of the glass, you can belt out that note at 100 decibels. The glass will start to vibrate.

The shattering will happen when the glass can no longer withstand the frequency channelled by strong vibrations.

By the way research has shown that a box of good quality glasses are much less likely to break than a cheaper wine glass. A glass with a wine glass, however, tiny, will make the chances of smashing the glass far greater.

What about musical instruments? Professional trumpeter Nick tuned his note to the natural resonance of the glass and played repeatedly until the glass broke. Meanwhile, Salford University claim to have broken glass using a clarinet. Logic would suggest that in conjunction with a correctly tuned amp a guitar should be able to break glass too. However, no such feat has been recorded yet!

Therefore: the power of sound can shatter glass and now you know exactly how!

An opera singer belting out a note so loud it smashes a glass has long been a comedic image!

You might remember that in 1982 Ella Fitzgerald appeared in a TV ad for Memorex where she was shown breaking a glass with her incredible voice. Not to mention opera singer Caruso who claimed to achieved the feat with his voice; a rumour his wife soon quashed after his death!

Or what about the scene in 'Harry Potter' when the Fat Lady tries to break a glass with her operatic singing voice? When she fails to do so, she shatters the glass by hitting it off her picture frame - but tries to pass it off as a product of her talent!

Either she didn't know the secrets behind resonance breaking glass or she just wasn't a very good singer!

So: can it really be done? Can sound shatter glass?

The short answer is yes. However, the conditions are very specific and must be carried out properly. Simply place a pint glass next to your speakers, turn the music up loud and most likely the glass isn't going to break.

To break glass with sound the sound will have to match the natural frequency of a thin wine glass.

And to find the natural frequency (called resonance) - rub your finger round the rim until you discern a single note.

This is how Benjamin Franklin first recognised the tones that he went on to play after inventing his own glass armonica.

Once you know the resonance of the glass, you can belt out that note at 100 decibels. The glass will start to vibrate.

The shattering will happen when the glass can no longer withstand the frequency channelled by strong vibrations.

By the way research has shown that a box of good quality glasses are much less likely to break than a cheaper wine glass. A glass with a wine glass, however, tiny, will make the chances of smashing the glass far greater.

What about musical instruments? Professional trumpeter Nick tuned his note to the natural resonance of the glass and played repeatedly until the glass broke. Meanwhile, Salford University claim to have broken glass using a clarinet. Logic would suggest that in conjunction with a correctly tuned amp a guitar should be able to break glass too. However, no such feat has been recorded yet!

Therefore: the power of sound can shatter glass and now you know exactly how!