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Chapter 16

Sound

Book Version 3
By Boundless
Boundless Physics
Physics
by Boundless
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Section 1
Introduction
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Characteristics of Sound

Sound is a longitudinal wave of pressure that travels through compressible medias, which can be solid, liquid, gaseous, or made of plasma.

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Frequency of Sound Waves

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. The perception of frequency is called pitch.

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Sound Production: Vibrating String and Air Columns

Sound can be produced by many different devices. A vibrating string or air column can both create music and have unique properties.

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Quality of Sound

Sound quality is an assessment of accuracy or enjoyability of how a sound is perceived.

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Speed of Sound

The speed of sound is is the distance traveled in a unit of time by a sound wave through an elastic medium, and is usually given as 344 m/s.

Section 2
Sound Intensity and Level
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Intensity

Sound Intensity is the power per unit area carried by a wave. Power is the rate that energy is transferred by a wave.

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Human Perception of Sound

The study of human perception of sound is called psychoacoustics.

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Decibels

The decibel is a logarithmic unit used to quantify sound levels, by comparing a physical quantity to a reference level.

Section 3
Doppler Effect and Sonic Booms
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Moving Observer

The Doppler effect is the apparent change in frequency of a wave when the observer and the source of the wave move relative to each other.

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Moving Source

The Doppler effect is the apparent change in frequency of a wave when the observer and the source of the wave move relative to each other.

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General Case

The Doppler effect is the apparent change in frequency of a wave when the observer and the source of the wave move relative to each other.

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Sonic Booms

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound.

Section 4
Interactions with Sound Waves
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Superposition

Superposition occurs when two waves occupy the same point (the wave at this point is found by adding the two amplitudes of the waves).

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Interference

Interference occurs when multiple waves interact with each other, and is a change in amplitude caused by several waves meeting.

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Beats

The superposition of two waves of similar but not identical frequencies produces a pulsing known as a beat.

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The Ear

The ear is the sensory organ that picks up sound waves from the air and turns them into nerve impulses that can be sent to the brain.

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Applications: Ultrasound, Sonar, and Medical Imaging

Sound waves reflect off different materials differently (when the reflections are collected, they can provide information and images).

Section 5
Further Topics
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Spherical and Plane Waves

Spherical waves come from point source in a spherical pattern; plane waves are infinite parallel planes normal to the phase velocity vector.

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Standing Waves on a String

Standing wave occurs due to the interference when transverse waves in strings are reflected and the incident and reflected waves meet.

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Standing Waves in Air Columns

Standing waves in air columns is the physical phenomenon that gives wind instruments their resonance and, therefore, sound.

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Forced Vibrations and Resonance

The phenomenon of driving a system with a frequency equal to its natural frequency is called resonance.

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Waves and Vibrations
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Chapter 16
Sound
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