Longitudinal Sound Waves

- Vibrations/oscillation of particles in a medium.

- Efect of density of the medium on the transmission speed of sound
waves:
depends on the properties of the medium through which it
travels
speed of sound in gases: as the density of gas decreases, the
speed of sound in the gas increases
speed of sound in solids and liquids: as the density of solids and
liquids increases the speed of sound also increases. !he smaller
distance between the particles in solids and liquids allows sound
waves to travel more quic"ly#
- Elasticity: the more elastic the solid, the greater the speed of
propagation of waves sound#
$elationship between compressions and rarefactions, crests and
troughs
- % compression is a volume of increased pressure and corresponds to
a crest in a transverse wave.
&ompression ' crest
- % rarefaction is a volume of reduces pressure and corresponds to the
trough in a transverse wave.
$arefaction ' trough
(requency and )itch
- !he greater the frequency, the greater the pitch of sound
- *umans can hear sound of frequency from +,*- to +, ,,,*-
- .ounds above +, ,,,*- are referred to as ultrasound
%mplitude and Volume
/oudness depends upon:
0. the sensitivity of the ear
+. the intensity of the sound
Sensitivity: !he ear tends to be less sensitive to frequencies close to
the upper and lower limits of hearing. !he ear is more sensitive at a
frequency of 1 2,, *-. !he sound of middle frequency would appear
louder.
Intensity: !he intensity if proportional to the square of the wave3s
amplitude:
4 is inversely proportional to %5
/oudness and 6istribution:
!he intensity loudness# of sound decreases as the square of the
distance:
4 is inversely proportional to 0/d5
Echoes
%n echo is the result of the re7ection of sound from an ob8ect.
Example 1: a student stands +,,m from a large 7at wall. *e ma"es a
loud sound and 0.9s later hears the echo. :hat value does he calculate
for the speed of sound;
Example 2: a similar technique < .=>%$ .ound >avigation and
$anging# was developed in ::+ to detect submarines. !his method is
also used to measure the depth of the ocean 7oor and to detect shoals
of ?sh.
$e7ection and %bsorption of .ound
- .ound waves following on a substance gets partially absorbed and
partially re7ected by the substance
- !he softer and more porous the materials, the more sound it will
absorb
- /ow density materials transmit sound better than high density
materials
- 6epending on the materials, @,-A,B of the sound energy is
converted into heat when it is absorbed
- !he table below indicates the absorption coeCcients of some
common materials. !he higher the coeCcient, the better absorbent the
substance is
Materials Absorption Coefcient
)laster ,.,+
:ood ,.0,
&arpet ,.9,
%coustic tile ,.A,