AR. CHRISTOPHER P.

COMA ,UAP,Mscm

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SONND PROPAGATION OF SOUND
PROPAGATION • is a sequence of waves of pressure which
propagates through compressible media such as
air or water.
• (Sound can propagate through solids as well, but
there are additional modes of propagation).
• During their propagation, waves can be reflected,
refracted, or attentuated by the medium.
• The place where there is no air or air is removed, is
called vacuum.
• Sound does not propagate (travels) through vacuum.

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FACTORS
WHICH AFFECT FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE PROPAGATION OF
THE SOUND:
PROPAGATION 1. GEOMETRIC SPREADING
OF SOUND: • This refers to the spreading of sound energy as a result of
1.GEOMETRIC the expansion of the wavefronts.
SPREADING • is independent of FREQUENCY and has a major effect in
almost all sound propagation situations.
• THERE ARE TWO COMMON KINDS OF GEOMETRIC
SPREADING: Spherical and Cylindrical spreading.

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FACTORS
WHICH AFFECT
THE
PROPAGATION
OF SOUND:
1.GEOMETRIC
SPREADING

• Attenuation from a point source (left) where the

intensity decreases according to the square of the
distance from the source (note increasing cone
area), and from a line source (right) where the
intensity decreases directly according to the
distance from the source.
• Radii A and B indicate a doubling of distance.

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FACTORS WHICH FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE PROPAGATION OF
AFFECT THE SOUND:
PROPAGATION OF 2. ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS
SOUND:
2. ATMOSPHERIC (a) Air Absorption: There are two mechanisms by which
EFFECTS acoustic energy is absorbed by the atmosphere.
A.Air Absorption • These are molecular relaxation and viscosity effects.
• By far the most important of these is molecular
relaxation.
• High frequencies are absorbed more than low. The
amount of ABSORPTION depends on the temperature
and humidity of the atmosphere.

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FACTORS
WHICH AFFECT
THE
PROPAGATION
OF SOUND:
2. ATMOSPHERI
C EFFECTS
A.Air
Absorption

The figures show the variation of the absorption

with temperature and relative humidity.
• From the diagrams it can be seen that for the
middle of the speech frequency range (2 kHz), the
absorption is typically 25 dB/100 m for 30%
relative humidity and 20°C (68°F).
• It should be noted, however, it can be as high as 5
dB/100 m at 8 kHz when the temperature is 20°C
and the humidity is 10%.

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FACTORS b) Wind and Temperature Gradients:
WHICH AFFECT • The speed that sound propagates in a gas depends on the
THE temperature of the gas.
PROPAGATION • Higher temperatures produce higher speeds of sound.
OF SOUND: • For example, under normal conditions the atmosphere is
2. ATMOSPHERI cooler at higher altitudes. This results in sound waves being
C EFFECTS 'bent' upwards (see REFRACTION) .
b. Wind and • Scattering occurs when sound waves are propagating through
Temperature the atmosphere and meet a region of inhomogeneity (a local
Gradients: variation in sound speed or air density) and some of their
energy is re-directed into many other directions.

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FACTORS FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE PROPAGATION OF
WHICH AFFECT SOUND:
THE 3. SURFACE EFFECTS
PROPAGATION (a) Ground Absorption:
OF SOUND: • If sound is propagating over ground, ATTENUATION
3. SURFACE will occur due to acoustic energy losses on
EFFECTS REFLECTION.
a.Ground • Smooth, hard surfaces will produce little
Absorption ABSORPTION whereas thick grass may result in
sound levels being reduced by up to about 10 dB per
100 meters at 2000 Hz.
• High frequencies are generally attenuated more than
low frequencies. See: ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE.

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FACTORS
WHICH AFFECT
THE FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE PROPAGATION OF
PROPAGATION SOUND:
OF SOUND: 3. SURFACE EFFECTS
3. SURFACE (b) Attenuation Due to Barriers and Trees:
EFFECTS • The trees are of more benefit aesthetically than
b. Attenuation acoustically.
Due to Barriers • A barrier should be at least high enough to obscure the
and Trees: 'line of sight' between the noise source and receiver.
• Barriers smaller than this may have a negative effect by
elimination of the destructive INTERFERENCE
phenomenon
• A barrier is most effective for high frequencies since low
frequencies are diffracted around the edge of a barrier
more easily (see DIFFRACTION).
• The maximum performance of a barrier is limited to
about 40 dB, due to scattering by the atmosphere.

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FACTORS
WHICH AFFECT
THE
PROPAGATION
OF SOUND:
3. SURFACE
EFFECTS
b. Attenuation
Due to Barriers
and Trees:
• It is possible for buildings to produce a different
acoustical effect.
• In a street, multiple reflections from parallel building
facades can result in considerable reverberation, and
consequently reduced attenuation.
• This is often referred to as the CANYON EFFECT.

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4 PROPERTIES
OF SOUND
1.Frequency
(Pitch) 4 PROPERTIES OF SOUND
1.Frequency (Pitch)
• is the quality that enables us to judge sounds as
being “higher” and “lower.
• It provides a method for organizing sounds based
on a frequency-based scale.
• Can be interpreted as the musical term for
frequency, though they are not exactly the same.
• Can only be determined when a sound has a
frequency that is clear and consistent enough to
differentiate it from noise.

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4 PROPERTIES
4 PROPERTIES OF SOUND
OF SOUND
2.Amplitude (Dynamics)
2.Amplitude
(Dynamics)
• The loudness of a note is called its dynamic
level.
• In physics, we measure the amplitude of sound
waves in decibels (dB), which do not
correspond with dynamic levels.
• Higher amplitudes correspond with louder
sounds, while shorter amplitudes correspond
with quieter sounds.
• a sound wave with a frequency of 20
hertz would have a period of 0.05 second

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4 PROPERTIES
OF SOUND 4 PROPERTIES OF SOUND
3.Timbre (Tone 3.Timbre (Tone Color)
Color) • refers to the tone color, or “feel” of the sound.
• Sounds with various timbres produce different
wave shapes, which affect our interpretation of
the sound.
• The sound produced by a piano has a
different tone color than the sound from a
guitar.
• In physics, we refer to this as the timbre of a
sound.
• It’s what allows humans to quickly identify
sounds (e.g. a cat’s meow, running water, the
sound of a friend’s voice).

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4 PROPERTIES OF
SOUND:
4.Duration
(Tempo/Rhythm) 4 PROPERTIES OF SOUND
4.Duration (Tempo/Rhythm)
• is the amount of time that a pitch, or tone,
lasts.
• The duration of a note or tone influences the
timbre and rhythm of a sound.
• A classical piano piece will tend to have
notes with a longer duration than the notes
played by a keyboardist at a pop concert.
• In physics, the duration of a sound or tone
begins once the sound registers and ends
after it cannot be detected.

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SONND
PROPAGATION

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INVERSE
SQUARE LAW INVERSE SQUARE LAW
• States that the intensity of sound
decreases by approximately 6 dB for
each doubling of distance from the
sound source.
• When you move 2 feet away from the
microphone, the sound will decrease by
6 dB.

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INVERSE
SQUARE LAW

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END

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