Q: A wire having a linear mass density 5.0 × 10-3 kg/m is stretched between two rigid supports with a tension of 450 N. The wire resonates at a frequency of 420 Hz. The next higher frequency at which the same wire resonates is 490 Hz. Find the length of the wire.
Sol: Suppose the wire vibrates at 420 Hz in its nth harmonic and at 490 Hz in its (p +1)th harmonic.
$\large \frac{490}{420} = \frac{p+1}{p}$
or , p = 6
$\large 420 = \frac{6}{2l} \sqrt{\frac{450}{5\times 10^{-3}}}$
l = 2.1 m