Comments by "Ginny Jolly" (@ginnyjollykidd) on "The Surprising Secret of Synchronization" video.

  1. Even propagating water waves don't move water farther away from the wave center. Water waves travel from one water molecule to the next, like the lightning bugs "propogate" light flashes, though they themselves don't move. Water might move a little, but it merely oscillates around its original position.
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  2. Better than losing the bridge altogether like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Or the Hyatt Regency bridge collapse in 1980. Even in my hometown, a gathering platform built over a parking lot called the Belvedere suffered damage when a famous fireworks display was set to music. It was not the music itself, but people's toe tapping to the music that found the resonant frequency of the platform and caused damage. The following year, only snippets of music were jammed together to prevent such rhythmic toe tapping, which was really irritating, and they dropped the music from then on.
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  3. The platform doesn't have to wobble. In fact, it might work even better on a stationary platform. The critical part is that all the oscillating objects are on the same platform. The energy moves between the oscillators by way of the platform. So a performer on stage or in the orchestra pit is actually vibrationally affecting fellow musicians through the platform. The reason it isn't obvious is that other synchronizations are happening. When you rehearse, you are intentionally synching your playing with your neighbor, and they, their neighbors. The conductor is just speeding this process up by beating the time so players follow with their tempo. It sure would be interesting to follow these energies in these same wave propagation models. And since studies of at least the violin vibrations show that a violin vibrates even the next day without being played, I would wager all instruments do this as well. And if these instruments vibrate air in synch with each other over a long period of time, not only do the musicians synch themselves together, but practice instills the instruments to "remember" the music played on it.
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  4. The platform does NOT go where MOST metronomes push it. It moves in the vector combined from the forces of ALL metronomes. And gravity and normal forces. Back to physics class for you.
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  5. This happens with birds during murmuration.
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