Would an audibly vibrating piece of metal (i.e. a tuning fork) behave in the same way as it was reduced in size (extremely small)? presumably if you blast relatively lower frequency soundwaves at it, you could get it to vibrate harmonically, but how does scale change things?

If you reduce the size, then the resonant frequency is higher. (The frequency also depends on the material.)

 

For example, a 4mm tuning fork can have a frequency of 32 kHz: http://www.madcitylabs.com/tuningforks.html

hmmm, my hearing range seems to be significantly less than 32 khz... does range make much difference at high frequencies? using the most suitable material optimally engineered for the purpose, and located in your inner ear, what's the smallest possible?

does range make much difference at high frequencies?

 

I don't understand the question. Range of what? Make a difference to what?

 

 

using the most suitable material optimally engineered for the purpose, and located in your inner ear, what's the smallest possible?

 

What is the smallest possible what? Tuning fork? Using silicon fabrication technology, a few microns. For example: http://micromachine.stanford.edu/~hopcroft/Research/resonators.html

i meant how far it travels. it obviously changes, so it was a stupid question...never mind.

 

The linked example is for a hermetic environment, but i get the gist... what's the vertical axis on this graph about, then? change in signal modulation...something... why is it negative? the frequency decreasing with time?

 

The vertical axis is frequency. The horizontal axis is temperature. The resonant frequency decreases as the device warms up.

 

This is because this changes the size, the "stiffness" of the material, etc. and hence its resonant frequency.

The vertical axis is frequency.

 

 

Fractional change in frequency

 

 

Fractional change in frequency

 

Ooops.