A modular experimental system for teaching fluid dynamics with Faraday waves

Abstract We describe a modular setup for the observation of Faraday waves on a vibrating bath. The setup will be used as a project exercise on fluid dynamics in a first-year course on experimental physics at Aarhus University as well as for future research on fluids. As a demonstration of the setup, the acceleration threshold for the onset of Faraday waves on a silicone oil bath as a function of the driving frequency is measured and compared to thresholds calculated using different existing models. The possibility to characterize surface waves with the system is demonstrated by recording and analyzing images of Faraday waves, e.g. showing explicitly that the Faraday waves in the present case are subharmonic and establishing the dispersion relation for the waves.