SOUND
How is sound created?
• Sound is produced as molecules
of a medium are vibrated. The
energy of the disturbance is
carried through the medium in a
mechanical wave.
wave
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• Sound waves are
longitudinal waves or
compression waves.
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• Areas of the wave that have
maximum density and pressure
are called compressions.
compressions
• Areas of the wave that have
minimum density and pressure
are called rarefactions
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• Rarefactions and compressions
spread out (propagate) in all
directions from the source of the
vibrations. This causes the sound
waves to act like ripple waves on a
pond.
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• Sound waves propagate
in all directions. They
spread out in three
dimensions from their
source.
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• The distance from one
wave front and the next
is the
wavelength.
• The direction of wave
propagation is indicated
by the “rays”
which are
radial lines
perpendicular
to the wave fronts.
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• The Frequency of a sound wave is
defined as the number of cycles per
unit of time. (Usually the units are
Hertz – Cycles per second)
• Humans can hear sound waves
between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. These
are called audible sound waves.
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• The frequency of an audible sound
wave, which determines how high
or low a sound is perceived, is
known as the pitch.
pitch
• As the frequency of the sound
wave increases, the pitch
rises.
Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p406
Characteristics of the Sound Wave
• The speed of sound depends on the
characteristics of the medium, such as
temperature, or whether the medium is a
solid, liquid or gas.
• Sound usually travels faster in a solid than a
gas because particles are closer together and
can transfer motion more quickly.
• The characteristics of the medium,
therefore, determines the velocity of the
sound wave through that medium
• The speed of sound is 331.3 meters per second
(1,087 feet per second) in dry air at 0 degrees
Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). At a
temperature like 28 degrees C (82 degrees F), the
speed is 346 meters per second.
• T he speed changes depending on the
temperature and the humidity; but if you want a
round number, then something like 350 meters
per second and 1,200 feet per second are
reasonable numbers to use. - How Stuff Works
The Doppler Effect
The Doppler Effect an observed change
frequency when there is relative motion
between the source of sound and an observer.
Moving Moving
away from toward
You = You =
lower higher
Serway/Faughn
perceived perceived Physics Text
frequency frequency p409
and lower and higher
perceived perceived
pitch pitch
The Doppler Effect
The Doppler Effect
The same is true if a sound source is
stationary and an observer moves
towards and away from the sound.
Moving towards the sound it appears
to be higher pitched than when
moving away.
Sonic Boom
• When an airplane travels through the
air, it produces sound waves. If the
plane is traveling slower than the
speed of sound (the speed of sound
varies, but 700 mph is typical through
air), then sound waves can propagate
ahead of the plane.
• If the plane breaks the sound barrier and flies
faster than the speed of sound, it produces a
sonic boom when it flies past. The boom is
the "wake" of the plane's sound waves.
• All the sound waves that would have normally
propagated ahead of the plane are combined
together. First you hear nothing, then you
hear the boom they create.
• It is just like being on the shore of a smooth lake
when a boat speeds past. There is no disturbance in
the water as the boat comes by, but eventually a
large wave from the wake rolls onto shore.
• When a plane flies past at supersonic speeds the
exact same thing happens, but instead of the large
wake wave, you get a sonic boom.
Sound Intensity
• The rate at which energy is transferred
through a unit area, perpendicular to the
direction of the sound wave motion is
the intensity of the sound wave.
• The intensity of the sound wave
decreases as the distance from the
sound source increases.
Sound Intensity
• The range of human hearing depends on
both the frequency and the intensity of
the sound waves.
• Sounds at high or low frequencies must
be relatively intense to be heard,
whereas sounds in the middle of the
spectrum are audible at lower intensities.
• Exposure to sounds above the threshold of pain
can cause immediate damage to the ear, even if
no pain is felt.
• Prolonged exposures to sounds
of lower intensities can also
damage the ear.
• The threshold of hearing and
the threshold of pain merge at
both high and low ends of the
spectrum.
Decibels
• A decibel is a dimensionless unit that
describes the ratio of two intensities
of sound.
• The threshold of hearing is
commonly used as the
reference intensity.
Natural Frequency
• The frequency or frequencies at
which an object tends to vibrate
with when hit, struck, plucked,
strummed or somehow disturbed
is known as the natural frequency
of the object.
Natural Frequency
• If the amplitudes of the
vibrations are large enough and if
natural frequency is within the
human frequency range, then the
vibrating object will produce
sound waves that are audible.
Resonance
• Resonance - when one object,
vibrating at the same natural
frequency of a second object,
forces that second object into
vibrational motion.
Harmonics and Sound
• Vibrations in string musical instruments
produce standing waves.
• The standing wave pattern results when
two waves of the same frequency,
wavelength and amplitude travel in
opposite directions and interfere.
Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p418
Harmonics and Sound
Sounds heard from musical instruments can sound
like a single pitch but can be made up of multiple
frequencies.
Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p419
Harmonics and Sound
• Since the velocity of a wave is equal to the
product of the frequency and the wavelength,
v = f
• and frequency is equal to the velocity divided
by the wavelength f = v/
• The frequency of vibration for the first
harmonic of the standing wave is f1 = v/2
• This is called the
fundamental frequency.
Harmonics and Sound
• The fundamental frequency has the greatest
possible wavelength and therefore also had
the lowest possible frequency. Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p418
• (Remember: frequency is inversely
proportional to wavelength.)
Harmonics and Sound
• Successive frequencies and standing wave patterns are
all integral multiples of the fundamental frequency.
These frequencies are called a harmonic series.
• Harmonics above the fundamental frequency are
known as overtones (for an open air column, such as a
wind instrument, or a stringed instrument).
Harmonics and Sound
• The general equation for calculating the
frequency of a standing wave in a string:
Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p419
Harmonics and Sound
• When as guitar player pressed down on
a guitar string at any point, that point
becomes a node and only a portion of
the string vibrates. As a result a single
string can be used to create a variety of
fundamental frequencies.
Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p419
Harmonics and Sound
• Standing waves can occur in a
column of air, such as inside a
trumpet or saxophone, or pipe
organ.
Harmonics and Sound
• The fundamental
frequency can be changed
by varying the length of the
vibrating air column.
Timbre and Beats
• Timbre is the musical quality of a tone
resulting from the combination of
harmonics present at different intensities.
It is the mixture of harmonics that
produces the characteristic sound of an
instrument. Serway/Faughn Holt Physics Text p424
Timbre and Beats
• When two waves of slightly different
frequencies interfere, the interference
pattern varies in such a way that the
listener hears an alternation between
loudness and softness. The variation
from soft to loud and back is called a
beat.
Serway/Faughn
Holt Physics Text p426