Inquiry question: How does the behaviour of audible sound waves propagating in one dimension from

a point source in an open environment (no obstacles or barriers) in 20°C dry air under standard atmospheric
conditions affect their use in Hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) headphone technology from 2020-2021

Intro: I will be discussing how various wave properties/behaviours like superposition and boundary
behaviours affect audible sound (relevant to modern headphone technology) in reference to ANC Hybrid
headphones and disregarding external factors that affect the inquiry question in unintended ways like an open
environment so that sound isn’t reflected off of multiple surfaces and into the headphone causing the external
noise to interfere with the reflected wave etc. As well as also looking into the physics principles behind the
transference of energy in sound waves and what constitutes sound waves.

Waves
In physics, waves transfer energy away from their source. The type of wave depends on two things,

(1) Whether they require matter/mediums (Mechanical waves) to travel in (medium is the material in
which the wave is propagating in) or not, Electromagnetic waves.
(2) And how those waves transfer energy. A transverse wave is where the particles oscillate (particles
vibrate about their equilibrium point) perpendicular to the direction of propagation (of energy), while
longitudinal waves is where the oscillation of particles is parallel to the direction of propagation (of
energy). This can be seen in Figure 1.

Electromagnetic waves are all transverse. While mechanical waves

(often referred to as matter waves) can be either transverse or
longitudinal. All o the above can be seen summarized in a Venn
Diagram shown in Figure 2.

These waves In
Figure 1
cross section or waveform (graphical representation) in one
dimensions follow the shape of a basic since curve (
y=sin x ¿, as shown in figure 3 which showcases the
universal features of waves.

Figure 3

Figure 2
 Figure 7
For all wave motions, the transfer of energy always away from
the origin/source, referred to as point source. Waves can travel
in one, two or three dimensions. An example of a wave Figure 4
travelling in 1-D is the motion of a longitudinal wave in a slinky
(shown in Figure 4). An example of a wave
travelling in 2-D is a transverse wave from a
point source caused by the disturbance in
still water from throwing a pebble. The
Figure 5 result is a ripple with circular wavefronts
travelling away from the point source (Figure 5). An example of a 3-D wave is sound created
underwater, forming spherical wavefronts (Figure 6 and 7).

What type of wave is Sound?

Sound is produced when an object vibrates. This causes particles in the surrounding medium (air, water, or Figure 6
solid) to become displaced from their equilibrium position, effectively resulting in that particle to push/pull on
adjacent particles, causing them to be displaced from their
equilibrium. As particles continue to displace one another
with mechanical vibrations, the disturbance is transmitting
the sound further through the medium. Since sound
interacts with matter, this makes them Mechanical waves.
However, since sound is created by vibrations, and the
energy from those vibrations causes particles to oscillate
parallel to the direction of propagation, that means that
Sound is a Longitudinal Mechanical Wave.

Since a sound wave consists of repeating patterns of high-

pressure and low-pressure regions moving through a Figure 8
medium, it is sometimes referred to as a pressure
wave consisting of compressions (where the
particles of the medium are pushed together, thus
having a higher pressure) and rarefactions (where
the particles of the medium are spread further
apart, thus having a lower pressure.). This is seen
in Figure 8 and 9.

Characteristics of Waves

Every wave consists of these 5 basic features Figure 9

which are Wavelength, Amplitude, Frequency, Period and Velocity.

Wavelength
The wavelength (λ) of a wave is the distance between successive
crests or troughs in a wave and indicates the distance that the wave
travels before it repeats itself, i.e, the distance between the start and
finish of one wave cycle. A full wavelength of a sine wave (as shown in
Figure 10, note that the graph is in radians so π represents 180°) is
drawn when the graph y=sin x is plotted for values of x between 0
to 360°. In a pressure wave such as sound, this is when the pressure
variation in repeats itself over a specific distance (seen in Figure 11).
Figure 10

Amplitude Figure 10

Figure 11
The amplitude (A) of a wave is the maximum displacement or distance a particle moves from its original
starting position, i.e. from the centre line or x-axis, in the wave medium as seen in Figure 12.

For sound waves, amplitude determines the intensity, or loudness, of the sound. A higher amplitude

corresponds with louder sounds, while shorter amplitudes correspond with quieter sounds.

Frequency Figure 12
The frequency ( f ¿ of a wave is the number of complete wave cycles that

pass a fixed point per second as seen in Figure 13. The frequency of a
sound wave is related to pitch. The higher the frequency of the sound, the
more vibrations per second and the higher the pitch. As such, lower Figure 13
frequencies would have a lower pitch as seen inf Figure 14.

 Period 

The period (T) of a wave is the amount of time required for one full
wavelength to pass a fixed point (as shown in Figure 14)

Figure 14

Figure 15

Velocity

The velocity (v) of a wave or at which it propagates is how fast the wave transfers energy away from its source.

Wave behaviours
Sound and the principle of Superposition
When two or more waves from separate sources meet, they interact as
they pass through each other and their amplitudes can be added, either
reinforcing or cancelling each other out. This is called interference, but
the physics principle behind this is called superposition.
 Waves are said to be in phase if they have the same frequency and their
crests and troughs (for sound waves it would be compressions and
Figure 16:
rarefactions) occur simultaneously. When two waves in phase with each
other interfere and the sum of their amplitudes is greater than that of
the individual waves alone, we say that constructive interference occurs.
Conversely, when two waves combine such that the sum of their
amplitudes is less than the amplitude of either of the individual waves,
we say that destructive interference has occurred. Complete destructive
interference occurs when two waves completely cancel each other out so
that the amplitude of the resultant disturbance is equal to zero. This
occurs when the two waves have the same frequency and amplitude but
have opposite phase (i.e 180° out of phase as seen in Figure 16), with one
wave’s peaks coinciding with the other wave’s troughs. (refer to Figure
17) The reason this happens is because the tendency of the compression
to push particles together is cancelled by the tendency of the rarefactions
to pull particles apart; resulting in the particles to remain at rest as
though there wasn't even a disturbance to begin with. Think of it as
trying to add one y=sin x with y=sin x−π . You’re just left with
zero (refer to Figure 18)

An Figure
analogy17
for interference is to
imagine that you’re on a small boat.
Two waves approach you from
opposite sides of the boat. If they
Figure 18
happen to be 'in phase' (peaks and
troughs coincide), then you'll be
pushed up higher than a single wave
coming from one side. If they happen
to be "out of phase" by 180°, then the peak of one meets the trough of the second one and it results in a
flatter wave, barely lifting you

Boundary Behaviour
As a sound wave travels through a medium, it will often reach the end of the medium and encounter a
boundary. The three possible behaviours that a wave could exhibit at a boundary is reflection (the bouncing off
of the boundary), transmission (the crossing of the boundary into the new material or obstacle), and refraction
(occurs along with transmission and is characterized by the subsequent change in speed and direction).
Reflection

When a wave hits a boundary and is reflected the amount of energy that becomes reflected is dependent upon
the dissimilarity of the two media. The more similar that the two media on each side of the boundary are, the
less reflection that occurs and the more transmission that occurs.

If a sound wave is traveling through a cylindrical tube, it will eventually meet a boundary. The end of the tube
represents a boundary between the enclosed air in the tube and the “free” air outside the tube. Upon reaching
the end of the tube, the sound wave will undergo partial reflection and partial transmission. That is, a portion
of the energy carried by the sound wave will pass across the boundary and out of the tube (transmission) and a
portion of the energy carried by the sound wave will reflect off the boundary, remain in the tube and travel in
the opposite direction (reflection). The reflected wave (now travelling back into the tube) can then interfere
(constructively or destructively) with the incident wave traveling in the opposite direction.

Refraction
When a sound wave travels over water. Even though the
sound wave is not exactly changing media, it is traveling

Figure 19
through a medium with varying properties, thus, the wave will encounter refraction and change its direction
and velocity. Since water is colder than air, the air directly above the water tends to be cooler than the air far
above the water. Subsequently, sound waves travel slower in cooler air than they do in warmer air. As the
wave travels into a denser medium, the direction of the refracted wave bends towards the normal, refracting
the wave downwards towards the water as shown in Figure 19.

Application of audible Sound waves in Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation headphones

technology

Active noise cancelling Headphones can eliminate unwanted noise produced by the eternal environment while
simultaneously playing the desired audio for the wearer. These headphones cancel the undesired noise by a
secondary noise of equal amplitude and 180° out of phase to that of the primary noise for the cancellation of
both noises based on the principle of superposition.

The components needed for ANC and they roles are (also refer to Figure
20 and 21):

 A microphone placed inside the ear cup "listens" to external

sounds that cannot be blocked passively.
 Electronics placed in the ear cup, sense the input from the
microphone noting the frequency and amplitude of the
incoming wave. Then they create a new wave that is 180
degrees out of phase with the waves associated with the noise.
 The "anti-sound" created by the noise-cancelling circuitry is fed
into the headphones' speakers along with the normal audio; Figure 20
the anti-sound erases the noise by destructive interference, but does not affect the desired sound
waves in the normal audio.

However, the headphones themselves provide

some passive insulation which absorbs sound,
therefore they require 2 microphones, one is
used on the outside to measure the external
noise, the second microphone is on the inside of
the headphone to measure the percentage of
noise that’s getting through the sound insulating
properties of the headphones and into your ear.

That's because when a sound wave transfers

from air into a solid boundary, like a
headphone, some of it is reflected back into the
Figure 20 air and some may be absorbed by the
headphone. Since the materials of the
headphones themselves block out and reflect some sound waves
(shown in Figure 21). So the microphone on the outside must
account for some of the sound wave frequency to be absorbed by
the headphone, so it make the appropriate corrective measure to
send out an “anti wave”.

How sound waves transfer energy using the particle

theory and principle behind kinetic energy
When an object vibrates, creating sound, it creates kinetic energy
that is transmitted by particles in the medium. As the vibrating
sound wave meets air particles, it passes its kinetic energy to
nearby particles. As these energized particles begin to vibrate
they energize adjacent particles that repeat the process in a chain reaction. As sound travels through a

Figure 21
medium, its energy causes the particles to move, creating an alternating compression and rarefaction pattern.
These particles however don’t move with the energy direction of propagation, but rather oscillate as when the
wave passes, the particles become energized and move from their original positions. After the particle passes
its energy to adjacent particles, it loses its kinetic energy and returns to its initial state until.

Since sound waves transfer energy via vibration of particles, the denser the medium the sound travels in, the
more quickly it can travel through solids, than through liquids and gases because the particles of a solid are
closer together and, therefore, can transmit the vibrations (energy) faster You can feel these vibrations in a
solid by simply touching the solid like a speaker for example.

This also explains why sound is faster in hotter air as particles have more energy at higher temperatures, which
means they vibrate faster. This allows the sound waves to also travel faster because they are propelled by
collisions between the excited particles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the wave properties of amplitude and frequency as well as the wave behaviours of superposition
and boundary behaviour (consisting of transmission, refraction and reflection) contribute to the successfulness
of Hybrid ANC headphones interaction with sound waves, but more so superposition as ANC requires
destructive interference to remove the unwanted sound, while the other wave behaviours more so align with
passive noise cancellation in that they don’t eradicate all unwanted sound, but still reduce it. I thus conclude
that audible sound waves can be effective in such technology due to how it transfers energy within a medium
and how that showcases the drastic effects that wave properties/behaviour as mentioned above have in this
technology.

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