Well done to Amy for her video submission which demonstrated how physics powers her electric guitar. Take a look at her cover letter below:
My video entitled Heavy Metal Physics explains how physics powers my electric guitar. Electric guitars use Faraday’s Principle of Electromagnetism in order to create their iconic sound. Pickup coils containing small bar magnets interact with the magnetised metal strings. The changing magnetic field caused when the strings are plucked or strummed creates a small current in the coils. This is sent into the amp, via the cable, which boosts the current enough to power the loudspeaker. It can also amplify different frequency ranges to change the style of the sound. This sound is then outputted by a vibrating rubber disc in the amp. I wanted to make this video as fun and engaging as possible in order to reach and captivate a wide audience. Many people know that electric guitar sounds great, and some even know how fun it is to play, but not many know the detailed aspects of physics that make this terrific instrument possible. If it weren’t for physics knowledge we wouldn’t have some of the best rock bands like AC/DC, Nirvana and Metallica and I wouldn’t be able to play such a cool instrument. So that is how physics powers my passion – the electric guitar!