How the kettle got its whistle

Researchers have finally worked out where the noise that makes kettles whistle actually comes from - a problem which has puzzled  scientists for more than 100 years. Once we know where the whistle is coming from, and what's making it happen, we can potentially get rid of it - Ross Henrywood It may come as a surprise to some, but in all the years that people have been brewing tea, no-one has ever quite been able to work out why kettles whistle. In a basic sense, of course, the reasons are pretty clear, but the physical source of the noise and the specific reason for the whistling sound have both remained elusive. Elusive, that is, until now. Writing in the October issue of the academic journal, The Physics Of Fluids , two Cambridge University researchers claim to have solved the conundrum, and in the process developed the first accurate model for the whistling mechanism inside a classic stove kettle. Perhaps reassuringly for those who never felt that this was a significant problem, the ramifications reach far beyond kettles themselves. Using the knowledge gained from the study, researchers could potentially isolate and stop similar, but far more irritating whistles - such as the noise made when air gets into household plumbing, or damaged car exhausts.