Longitudinal Sound Waves

- Vibrations/oscillation of particles in a medium. - Effect 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. (The smaller distance between the particles in solids and liquids allows sound waves to travel more quickly) - Elasticity: the more elastic the solid, the greater the speed of propagation of waves (sound) Relationship between compressions and rarefactions, crests and troughs - A compression is a volume of increased pressure and corresponds to a crest in a transverse wave. Compression = crest - A rarefaction is a volume of reduces pressure and corresponds to the trough in a transverse wave. Rarefaction = trough Frequency and Pitch - The greater the frequency, the greater the pitch of sound - Humans can hear sound of frequency from 20Hz to 20 000Hz - Sounds above 20 000Hz are referred to as ultrasound Amplitude and Volume Loudness depends upon: 1. the sensitivity of the ear 2. the intensity of the sound Sensitivity: The ear tends to be less sensitive to frequencies close to the upper and lower limits of hearing. The ear is more sensitive at a frequency of 3 500 Hz. The sound of middle frequency would appear louder. Intensity: The intensity if proportional to the square of the waves amplitude: I is inversely proportional to A

Loudness and Distribution: The intensity (loudness) of sound decreases as the square of the distance: I is inversely proportional to 1/d Echoes An echo is the result of the reflection of sound from an object. Example 1: a student stands 200m from a large flat wall. He makes a loud sound and 1.4s later hears the echo. What value does he calculate for the speed of sound?

Example 2: a similar technique SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) was developed in WW2 to detect submarines. This method is also used to measure the depth of the ocean floor and to detect shoals of fish.

Reflection and Absorption of Sound - Sound waves following on a substance gets partially absorbed and partially reflected by the substance - The softer and more porous the materials, the more sound it will absorb - Low density materials transmit sound better than high density materials - Depending on the materials, 70-80% of the sound energy is converted into heat when it is absorbed - The table below indicates the absorption coefficients of some common materials. The higher the coefficient, the better absorbent the substance is Materials Plaster Wood Carpet Acoustic tile Absorption Coefficient 0.02 0.10 0.40 0.80