SOUND WAVES

ENG: GAMMA
 Sound waves

• Sound waves are the most important example of longitudinal

waves.
• They can travel through any material, except vacuum (no one
can hear you scream in outer space).
• Speed of sound depends on material (and temperature)
 Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal waves.
They consist of compressed and rarified regions of gas (medium)
We can hear (audible) frequencies from about 20 Hz (low) to 15,000 Hz (high).
Infrasonic “sound” waves: below ~ 20 Hz
Ultrasonic sound waves: above ~ 15,000 Hz
Sound
- is a wave (sound wave)
- Rarefied and compressed regions
- Longitudinal wave
- air molecules move back and forth
Sound waves, hearing and the ear
Notes and their Octaves: Frequency
fundamental doubles for each tone
frequency
 Speed of Sound Waves
In gas and liquids: In solids:

B Y
v v
 
Y… Young’s modulus
B… Bulk modulus of medium
…density of material

Bulk modules Young’s modules

determines the volume determines the length
change of an object due change of an object
to an applied pressure P. due to an applied force
F.
volume stress F/A P tensile stress F/A
B   Y 
volume strain V / Vi V / Vi tensile strain L / Li
Speed of Sound in air as a function of temperature

TC
Speed of sound in air : v  (331 m/s )  1 
273C
@ 20C : vS  343 m/s

TC … air temperature in degrees Celsius

 Periodic sound waves.
(A constant tone is a periodic sound wave)

Condensation:
Regions of compressed gas.

Rarefactions:
Regions of rarefied gas.

Distance between two compressed regions: Wavelength l

 Periodic sound waves.

Displacement of small volume element:

sx, t   smax coskx  t 

Pressure variation:

Px, t   Pmax sin kx  t 

Standing waves in air colums
Standing waves in air colums
• Standing waves can be set up in a tube or air (pipe, flute, …)
• Distinguish between open end pipes and close end pipes
• Analogous to standing waves on a string.
• Antinode on open ends. Node on closed ends.

Both ends open:

Standing waves in air colums

• Antinode on open ends.

• Node on closed ends.

One end closed:

 In a pipe open at both ends, the natural frequencies of oscillation
form a harmonic series that includes all integral multiples of the
fundamental frequency
v v
fn  n n  1, 2, 3, ...
ln 2L

In a pipe closed at one end and open at the other, the natural
frequencies of oscillation form a harmonic series that includes only
odd integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.

v v
fn  n n  1, 3, 5, ...
ln 4L
Example

A loudspeaker is adjustable in frequency from 1000

to 2000 Hz. The tube D is a piece of cylindrical
sheet-metal pipe 45. 7 cm long and open at both
ends.

(a) If the speed of sound in air is 343 m/s, what is

the lowest frequency at which resonance will
occur in the pipe when the frequency emitted by
the speaker is varied from 1000 Hz to 2000 Hz?
(b) Sketch the standing wave for each resonant
frequency.
 Given

The given cylindrical sheet metal pipe is equivalent

to open tube pipes.
The resonant frequency of the open tube pipe is
fn = n (v/2L)
Here, n = 1,2,3…..., speed of the sound in the tube
is v and length of the tube is L.
For corresponding frequencies emitted by the small
loudspeaker, the tube will resonate.
Solution:
(a) The speed of the sound in air at room
temperature is 343 m/s.
Substitute 343 m/s for v and 45.7 cm
for in the equation fn = n (v/2L) gives
fn = n [v/2L]
= n [ (343 m/s)/2 (45.7 cm)]
= n (375.275/s) (1 Hz.s)
= n (375.275 Hz)
For the first harmonic, insert n = 1 in the equation fn = n (375.275 Hz)
gives
fn = n (375.275 Hz)
f1 = (1) (375.275 Hz)
= 375.275 Hz
For the second harmonic, insert n = 2 in the equation fn = n (375.275 Hz) gives
f2 = (2) (375.275 Hz)
= 750.55 Hz
For the third harmonic, insert n = 3 in the equation fn = n (375.275 Hz) gives
f3 = (3) (375.275 Hz)
= 1125.825 Hz
 (b) For n = 3, the displacement nodes are shown below:

For the other harmonics the frequency will increase

accordingly.
Music instruments

Combining different
harmonics
 Doppler effect

When heading into waves: Frequency becomes shorter.

When heading away from waves: Frequency becomes larger.
 Doppler effect

When heading into waves: Frequency becomes shorter.

When heading away from waves: Frequency becomes larger.
 Doppler effect
Moving detector Moving source

 v  vD   v 
f '  f f '    f
 v   v  vS 

+… detector moving toward source +… source moving away from observer

- … detector moving away from source - … source moving towards observer

 v  vD 
If both, detector and source are moving: f '    f
 v  vS 
 The 15kHz whine of the
turbines in the jet engines of an
aircraft moving with speed 193
m/s is heard at what frequency
by the pilot of a second craft
trying to overtake the first at a
speed of 246 m/s?

Solution
 Shock waves
When the speed of the
object, vS, exceeds the
wave speed, v.

v t v
sin   
vs  t vs

The ratio vS/v is called the Mach number.

For sound: Mach 3 means 3x the speed of sound.