Sound Waves

by Ashley Roy
Sound waves transmit energy. A sound wave is the result of when a surface (layer of molecules) moves back and forth in a medium, resulting in a sequence of compression and rarefractions. The compression in a region of where the molecules of the medium are close together, causing the pressure to rise. The rarefraction is the region of where the molecules are spread out, causing the pressure to drop.

Sound waves are very interesting to study. They can travel through nearly anything, including wood, air, water, and metals. Sound waves move in the form of longitudinal waves through a medium. In such waves, particles in such mediums move parallel to the wave velocity. Sound waves have different catagories, including : 1. Audible Sound. (Frequencies of 20-20,000 Hz.) 2. Infrasonic Sound. (Frequencies of lower than 20 Hz.) 3. Ultrasonic Sound. (Frequencies of higher than 20,000 Hz.)

Sound waves can move through the following properties: Solids, liquids, and gases, but not vacuum. Vacuum contains none of the aforementioned properties, and therefore no given medium for the sound waves to travel on. Sound waves travel better though

higher density mediums, because they have less space between the molecules, and the sound can travel farther on them without depleting.

The speed of sound is constant for a given material, at a given pressure and temperature. The speed of sound is also less on air than it is in water, which is less than in a solid. This, again, is related to the intermolecular space in the mediums. When a sound goes from a low density to a high density medium, the frequency remains unchanged, and the velocity increases therefore causing the wavelength to increase. Speed of sound also increases with higher temperatures, because the higher the temperature, the faster the molecules of a medium move, and the speed of the sound wave increases. The speed of sound is directly influenced by the medium through which it travels, and the factors that affect the medium, such as weather, humidity, altitude, and temperature for gases. Factors affecting solids include temperature and humidity.

Wavelength is the term used for describing the distance between two consecutive and equivalent points on a wave. Wavelength can be found be measuring the distance between the points on a wave, such as crests or troughs. Crests are the high points, or peaks on a wave and the troughs are the low points, or valleys on a wave. The shape of a wave is directly related to it's spectral content, or the particular frequencies, amplitudes, and phases of it's components(1). Phase is a term used for the particular point in the cycle of a

wave form, measured as an angle. It is not usually an audible characteristic, but can be when one uses a very low frequency wave as a control in synthetics. Frequency is the amount of cycles of a sound wave per unit of time. It is mostly measured in seconds, but can be measured by using the interchangable Hertz.

Amplitude is an interesting characteristic of sound. Amplitude is the objective measurement of the degree of change in the atmospheric pressure caused by the sound wave as it passes through. Sound waves with greater amplitude will cause greater changes in the atmosphere than waves with lesser amplitude. Amplitude is almost always a comparative measurement, since at the lowest amplitude end (silence,) some air molecules are always in motion and at the highest end, the amount of compression and rarefraction, though finite, is extreme(1). Amplitude is directly related to acoustic energy, or intensity of a sound. Both are related to power. Amplitude is measured in the amount of force applied over an area. The most common unit of measurement of force applied to an area for acoustic study is Newtons per square mile (N/M2).

The perceived pitch of a sound is just the ear's response to frequency. I.e, for the most practical purposes, the pitch is just the frequency. The pitch perception of the human ear is understood to operate basically by the place theory, with some sharpening mechanism

necessary to explain the remarkably high resolution of human pitch perception. A high pitch sound corresponds with a high frequency, and a low sound with a low frequency. Amazingly, people, especially those who have been musically trained, can detect a difference in frequency between two sounds that is as little as 2 Hz. When two sounds with a difference greater than 7 Hz are played simultaneously, most people are capable of detecting the presence of a complex wave pattern resulting from the interference and super position of the two sound waves. Certain sound waves, when played simultaneously, will produce a particularly pleasant sensation when heard, and are said to be consonant. Such sound waves form the basis of intervals in music. For example, any two sounds whose frequencies make a 2:1 ratio are said to be seperated by an octave, and result in a pleasing sensation when heard. That is, two sound waves sound good when played together if one sound has twice the frequency of the other.

Sound quality, or timbre, describes these characteristics of sound which allow the ear to distinguish sounds which have the same pitch and amplitude. Timbre is then a general term for the distinguishable characteristics of a tune.

The ordinary definition of vibrato is "periodic changes in the pitch of a tune." Another is that it is a musical effect consisting of regular, pulsating changes of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterized

in terms of two factors : the amount of vibrato ("extent of vibrato") and the speed of which the pitch varies ("rate of vibrato".) The terms vibrato and tremolo are sometimes used interchangeably, although the strict definitions of each describe them as different effects. Tremolo usually refers to periodic variations in the amplitude of a musical note. In practice, it is difficult for a singer to achieve a pure vibrato or pure tremolo not, because many times both will be achieved at the same time.

A sound's volume, how loud or soft it is, depends on the sound waves. The more energy put into creating the sound wave, the louder the volume will be. The further a sound wave travels, the more it spreads. This makes it difficult to hear a sound from far away. Because the sound waves spread out as they move away from their source, and their intensity fades with distance, they are obeying the inverse-square law, which states that a specified physical quantity, or strength is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source of that phyical quantity.

The Doppler effect was first explained in 1842 by Christian Doppler. His Doppler effect is the shift in frequency and wavelength of waves which results from a source moving with respect to the medium, a receiver moving with respect to the medium, or even a moving medium. Movement of the source alters the wavelength and the received frequency of the

sound, though the source frequency and the wave velocity are unchanged. People like to use the example of an ambulance driving past. It is a classic example of the Doppler effect.

Standing waves are examples for longitudinal waves where the nodes are formed at the closed ends and antinodes are formed at the open ends (always). Resonance means reinforcement of sound; by means, when the frequency of the the vibrating source is equal to the frequency of the vibrations of the column.

The reflection of one's voice is called an echo. Echoes can be heard from almost any large surface such as a large wall or building. If one were to walk into a large, open, empty room and shout, there would be some significant echoes going on. The further one is from the surface, however, the more time that is needed for the sound to reach it, and then bounce back toe reach one's ear. An echo is the sound one hears when one makes a noise, and the sound waves reflect off of a distant object. Echoes can be used to estimate the distance of an object, it's size, shape and velocity, as well as the velocity of the sound itself. Scientists use radar in the Navy to detect mines, and projectiles underwater to protect the submarines. Special effects can be created using echoes by reflecting off certain objects, and surfaces.

Sound waves are produced at a constant frequency f0, and the wavefronts propagate

symmetrically away from the source at a constant speed v, which is the speed of sound in the medium. All observers will hear the same frequency, which will be equal to the actual frequency of the source. Now the sound is moving to the right with a speed vs = 0.7v. (Mach 0.7). The wavefronts are produced with the same frequency as before. However, since the source is moving, the center of each new wavefront is displaced slightly to the right. As a result, the wavefronts begin to bunch up on the right side (front) and spread out on the left side (back). As an observer in front, they will hear a higher frequency than an observer behind the source.

Now the source is moving at the speed of sound in the medium. The speed of sound in the medium. The speed of sound in air at sea level is about 340 m/s, or about 750 mph. The wavefronts in front of the source will all bunched up at the same point. As a result, an observer in front will detect nothing until the source arrives. The pressure front in front of will be quite intense (shock wave), due to all the wavefronts adding together and will not be perceived as a pitch, but as a small "thump" of sound as the pressure wall passes by. Jet pilots flying at Mach 1 report that there is a noticeable "wall" or "barrier" which must be penetrated before achieving supersonic speeds. This "wall" is due to the intense pressure front, and flying within this pressure front produces a very turbulent and bouncy ride. Chuck Yeager was the first person toe break the sound barrier when he flew faster than the speed of sound

in the X-1 rocket-powered aircraft on October 14, 1947.

The sound source has now broken the sound barrier and is traveling at 1.14 times the speed of sound (Mach 1.4). Since the source is moving faster than the sound waves, it is actually leading the wavefront. The sound source will pass by a stationary observer before the observer actually hears the sound it makes. If seen in an animation, there is a clear formation of the Mach cone. The angle of which depends on the ratio of source speed to sound speed. It is the intense pressure front on the mach cone that produces the shock wave now commonly known as the "sonic boom", and a supersonic aircraft passes overhead. The shock wave advances at the speed of sound v, and since it is built up from all the combined wavefronts, the sound will be quite intense. A supersonic aircraft, usually produces two sonic booms, one from the nose and one from the tail, resulting in a double thump.

In conclusion, there are many aspects to sound waves. They are the result of layers of molecules vibrating across a medium that must be either a solid, liquid or gas. They have three catagories, audible, infrasonic, and ultrasonic. Wavelength is the distance between two points on a wave, frequency is the amount of cycles of a sound wave per unit of time, amplitude is the measurement of the amount of change in atmospheric pressure caused by a sound wave, and pitch is the ear's response to frequency.