SOUND

• Sound is a mechanical energy which produces a

sensation of hearing

• For hearing sound, following conditions must be fulfilled.

(i) a vibrating body—capable of transferring its
energy to its surroundings.

(ii) a material medium --- pick up the energy

and propagate it in the forward direction.

(iii) a receiver– receive vibrations and then

transmit to the brain for final interpretation, such
as human ear.
 Types of sound
• Musical sounds : produced by regular and
periodic vibrations, pleasing to the ear. (e.g)
piano or violin music.

• Noise : produced by irregular and non-periodic

vibrations, unpleasant to the ear. (e.g) rattling of
keys, hammering of metal sheets.
 Characteristic of wave motion
• Wave motion is a periodic disturbance which
advances forward with time. Such waves are
called progressive waves.
– Types (progressive) : (i) Elastic waves
(ii) Electromagnetic waves

Types (elastic waves) : (i) Transverse

waves
(ii) Longitudinal waves
• Transverse waves :
The particles vibrate perpendicular to the
direction of propagation of the wave.
Characteristics : (i) crest (ii)
trough

• Crest : Maximum displacement of the particles in

the upward direction.

• Trough : Maximum displacement of the particles in

the downward direction.
• Longitudinal waves : The particles vibrate along
the direction of propagation of wave.
– Characteristics : (i) compression
(ii) rarefaction

• Compression : The region in which energy is

imparted to the air molecules which, in turn, get
compressed and thus forming a region of high
pressure and high density

• Rarefaction : The fall in pressure causes the

molecules in these region to move apart, with the
result a region of rarefaction is formed.
Images of compression and
rarefaction
Some important terms of wave motion

• Amplitude : The maximum displacement of a

vibrating particle about its mean position.

• Frequency : The number of vibrations produced

by a vibrating particle in one second.

• Wave length : The linear distance between two

successive crests or troughs.

• Time period : The time taken for one complete

vibration.
Relation
• Relation between
wave velocity,
frequency and
wavelength is given
by c = f λ

• Relation between
frequency and time
period T = 1/f
• Sound are longitudinal waves consisting of
compression and rarefaction.

• Sound requires material medium for propagation

(Bell jar experiment).

• Sound wave travels with a velocity of 330m/s at

normal temperature.
Factors affecting the velocity of sound

• Temperature : With every 1K(or 1°C) rise in

temperature, the speed of sound increases by
0.6 m/s and vice versa.

• Humidity : With the increase in humidity, the

speed of sound increases.

• Wind : Sound travels faster if the wind is

blowing along its direction of travel.
 Material Velocity of
sound m/s

• State of matter : iron 5,000

Sound travels bone 4,100

- faster in solids,
Soft tissue 1,540 (Av.)
-slower in liquids
- and slowest in gases. water 1,480

fat 1,450

air 330
 Factors not affecting the velocity of sound in
gases

• Wavelength
• Frequency
• Amplitude
• Pressure
 Range of hearing
• The range of audible frequencies to which
human ear can respond is from 20Hz to 20,
000Hz.

• Vibrations with frequencies beyond 20,000Hz

are called ultrasonic vibrations. e.g squeak of
bat, dog whistle

• Vibrations with frequencies below 20Hz are

called infrasonic vibrations. e.g vibration of a
pendulum.
 History of ultrasound
• Piezo electricity discovered by the Curies in
1880 using natural quartz.

• Diagnostic Medical applications in use since

late1950’s.

• The technical term for ultrasound imaging is

sonography.

• Ultrasound technology was originally developed

as SONAR to track submarines during World War
I in1940’s.
• It was first used medically in 1950s and is
considered very safe.
 ULTRASOUND
• The sound of frequencies above 20,000 Hz is
called ultrasound, which can not be detected by
the human air.

• The velocity of ultrasound depends on the nature

of the medium and is independent of frequency.

• Ultrasound travels faster in solids and slower in

gases.

• The average velocity of ultrasound in soft tissue

is 1540 m/s.
 Properties of ultrasound
Audible sound does not have the following
properties

• The energy carried by the ultrasound is very high.

• The ultrasound can travel along a well defined

straight path.

• It does not bend appreciably at the edges of an

obstacle i.e., they have high directivity.
Ultrasound similar to echolocation
• Ultrasound or ultrasonography is a medical
imaging technique that uses high frequency
sound waves and their echoes.

• The technique is similar to the echolocation

used by bats, whales and dolphins, as well as
SONAR used by submarines.
 Bats
• Bats use ultrasounds
to move in the
darkness.
• Bats use a variety of
ultrasonic ranging
(echolocation)
techniques to detect
their prey.
• They can detect
frequencies from
10Hz to 100kHz
 Cats
• Cats can hear
sound at higher
frequencies than
humans can.

• They can detect

frequencies from
80Hz to 60kHz
 Dogs
• A dog whistle
exploits this by
emitting a high
frequency sound to
call to a dog.
• Many dog whistles,
such as the silent
whistle, emit
ultrasound at a
frequency in the
range 18–22 kHz.
• They can detect
frequencies from
 Dolphins and whales
• Some whales can hear
ultrasound and have their
own natural sonar system.
• Some whales use the
ultrasound as a hunting
tool (for both detection of
prey and as an attack).
• Dolphins can detect
frequencies from 200 Hz
to 150 kHz
 Grasshopper
• They can detect
frequencies from 90
Hz to 1.0 kHz
 Fish
• Several types of fish
can detect ultrasound.
Of the order
Clupeiformes,
members of the
subfamily Alosinae
(shad), have been
shown to be able to
detect sounds up to
180 kHz, while the
other subfamilies (e.g.
herrings) can hear
 Human
• Children can hear
sounds of some what
higher frequencies up to
30kHz.

• Old person can hear

sound up to frequencies
12 kHz.

• Hence the audible range

of frequency for an
average person is
considered to be from
20 Hz to 20 kHz.
 Introduction to Ultrasonics
• The word ultrasonic combines the Latin roots ultra, meaning
‘beyond’ and sonic, or sound.

• The sound waves having frequencies above the audible range i.e.
above 20000Hz are called ultrasonic waves.

• Generally these waves are called as high frequency waves.

• The field of ultrasonics have applications for imaging, detection and

navigation.

• The broad sectors of society that regularly apply ultrasonic

technology are the medical community, industry, the military and
private citizens.
 Properties of ultrasonic waves

(1) They have a high energy content.

(2) Just like ordinary sound waves, ultrasonic waves

get reflected, refracted and absorbed.

(3) They can be transmitted over large distances

with no appreciable loss of energy.

(4) If an arrangement is made to form stationary waves of

ultrasonics in a liquid, it serves as a diffraction grating. It is called
an acoustic grating.

(5) They produce intense heating effect when passed through a

substance.
 ULTRASOUND PRODUCTION
• Ultrasound waves are produced by a transducer, which works
on the piezoelectric effect.
• Piezoelectricity from the Greek word "piezo" means pressure
electricity.
• The main component of the transducer is the piezoelectric
crystal such as quartz and lead zirconate titanate (PZT).
• When the crystal is subjected to a given pressure, it
developes a voltage across its opposite surface.
• If a voltage is applied across the crystal, a pressure wave
(ultrasound) is generated in the opposite surface.
• The crystal converts electrical energy into ultrasound and
vice versa.
• The first demonstration of the direct piezoelectric effect was
in 1880 by the brothers Pierre Curie and Jacques Curi
• The first practical application for piezoelectric devices
was sonar, first developed during World War I. In France in
1917, Paul Langevin and his coworkers developed
an ultrasonic submarine detector.
 Transducer
• The transducer is the component of the ultrasound system
that is placed in direct contact with the patient's body. It
alternates between two major functions:
(1) producing ultrasound pulses and (2) receiving or detecting
the returning echoes.
• The transducer also focuses the beam of pulses to give it a
specific size and shape at various depths within the body and
also scans the beam over the anatomical area that is being
imaged.
• Transducer is a device that convert one form of energy into
another.
• Ultrasonic transducers are used to convert an electric signal
into ultrasonic energy that can be transmitted into tissues,
and to convert ultrasonic energy reflected back from the
• The source of high
frequency current is
conveyed by the
coaxial cable to a
transducer.

• The current is
applied to the
crystal through
electrodes.

• The crystal vibrates

due to piezo electric
effect and produces
ultrasound.
Ultrasound transducer
• The most important component is a thin piezoelectric crystal
(0.5mm) located near the face of the transducer.
• The front and back faces of the crystal are coated with a thin
conducting film to ensure good conduct with the two
electrodes that will supply the electric field.
• The surfaces of the crystal are plated with gold or silver
electrodes .
• The outside electrode is grounded to protect the patient from
electrical shock, and its outside surface is coated with a
watertight electrical insulator.
• The thick backing block absorbs sound waves transmitted
back into the transducer.
• The housing is usually a strong plastic.
• An acoustic insulator of rubber or
cork prevents the sound from
passing into the housing.
 Medical use of ultrasound
• Ultrasound is a procedure that
uses high-frequency sound
waves to view internal organs
and produce images of the
human body.
• Noninvasive, which means it
does not penetrate the skin or
body openings.
• Diagnostic, which means it is
used to determine what
disease or condition is
present .
• The original ultrasound
scanners produced still
images, but modern scanners
produce moving pictures,
which are easier to interpret.
 working
• The ultrasound machine transmits high-
frequency (1 to 5 megahertz) sound pulses into
your body using a probe.
• The sound waves travel into your body and hit a
boundary between tissues (e.g. between fluid
and soft tissue, soft tissue and bone).
• Some of the sound waves get reflected back to
the probe, while some travel on further until they
reach another boundary and get reflected.
• The reflected waves are picked up by the probe
and relayed to the machine.

• The machine calculates the distance from the

probe to the tissue or organ (boundaries) using the
speed of sound in tissue (5,005 ft/s or1,540 m/s)
and the time of the each echo's return (usually on
the order of millionths of a second).

• The machine displays the distances and intensities

of the echoes on the screen, forming an image.

• In a typical ultrasound, millions of pulses and

echoes are sent and received each second. The
probe can be moved along the surface of the body
and angled to obtain various views
• Ultrasound image of a
growing fetus
(approximately 12
weeks old) inside a
mother's uterus. This
is a side view of the
baby, showing (right
to left) the head, neck,
torso and legs
 The Ultrasound Machine
• Transducer probe - probe that sends
and receives the sound waves
• Central processing unit (CPU) -
computer that does all of the
calculations and contains the
electrical power supplies for itself and
the transducer probe
• Transducer pulse controls - changes
the amplitude, frequency and duration
of the pulses emitted from the
transducer probe
• Display - displays the image from the
ultrasound data processed by the CPU
• Keyboard/cursor - inputs data and
takes measurements from the display
• Disk storage device (hard, floppy, CD) -
stores the acquired images
• Printer - prints the image from the
displayed data
 Advantages
• Ultrasound is a painless procedure.

• Ultrasound is widely available, low cost and easy

to use.

• Because it does not use radiation, the side

effects of radiation are not an issue.

• So, ultrasound is the preferred technique for

monitoring pregnant women and their unborn
children.
• Ultrasound can display the movement and actual
function of the body's organs and blood vessels.

• There are no known harmful effects of standard

ultrasound imaging.

• The main limitation of ultrasound imaging is that

it does not reflect clearly from bone or air.

• Therefore, other imaging techniques are

preferred for areas such as the lungs and the
bones.
• Ultrasound has been used in a variety of
clinical settings, including obstetrics and
gynecology, cardiology and cancer detection.

• The main advantage of ultrasound is that

certain structures can be observed without
using radiation.

• Ultrasound can also be done much faster than

X-rays or other radiographic techniques.
 Applications of Ultrasonics in Medicine

(1)Diagnostic sonography

• Medical sonography (ultrasonography) is an

ultrasound-based diagnostic medical imaging
technique used to visualize muscles, tendons, and
many internal organs, their size, structure and any
pathological lesions.
• They are also used to visualize the foetus during
routine and emergency prenatal care. Ultrasound
scans are performed by medical health care
professionals called sonographers. Obstetric
sonography is commonly used during pregnancy.
 Obstetrics and Gynecology
• measuring the size and sex of the fetus to determine
the due date
• determining the position of the fetus to see if it is in the
normal head down position or breech -fetal movement,
breathing, and heartbeat
• checking the position of the placenta to see if it is
improperly developing over the opening to the uterus
(cervix)
• seeing the number of fetuses in the uterus
• checking the sex of the baby (if the genital area can be
clearly seen)
• checking the fetus's growth rate by making many
measurements over time.
• seeing tumors of the ovary and breast
 (2)Ultrasound therapeutic applications

• Treating malignant tumors and other disorders, via a

process known as Focused Ultrasound Surgery (FUS) or
HIFU, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound.

These procedures generally use lower frequencies than

medical diagnostic ultrasound (from 250kHz to 2000kHz)
, but significantly higher time-averaged intensities.
• More power ultrasound sources may be used to
clean teeth in dental hygiene or generate local
heating in biological tissue, e.g. in occupational
therapy, physical therapy and cancer treatment.

• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy uses a

powerful focused ultrasound source to break up
kidney stones.

• Focused ultrasound sources may be used for

cataract treatment by phacoemulsification.
• Doppler ultrasound is being tested for use in aiding
tissue plasminogen activator treatment in stroke
sufferers. This procedure is called Ultrasound-
Enhanced Systemic Thrombolysis.

• Ultrasound has been shown to act synergistically with

antibiotics in bacterial cell killing.
 (3)Ultrasonic blood Flow meter
Ultrasonic waves are used for studying the blood flow
by measuring the change in their frequency produced
due to Doppler’s effect.

Note : Physiological effects of ultrasound energy

Ultrasound energy has two physiological effects :

1. Enhance inflammatory response

2. Heats soft tissue.
• Ultrasound energy produces a mechanical pressure
wave through soft tissue

• This pressure wave causes microscopic bubbles in

living tissues, and distortion of the cell membrane,
influencing ion fluxes and intracellular activity. When
ultrasound enters the body, it causes molecular
friction and heats the tissues slightly.

• In some cases, it can also cause small pockets of gas

in body fluids or tissues to expand and contract /
collapse (cavitations).

• The long-term effects of tissue heating and

cavitations are not known.
 Urology

– measuring blood flow through the kidney

– seeing kidney stones
– detecting prostate cancer early
• In addition to these areas, there is a growing use
for ultrasound as a rapid imaging tool for
diagnosis in emergency rooms.
 Cardiology

• seeing the inside of the heart to identify

abnormal structures or functions
• measuring blood flow through the heart
and major blood vessels
 Disadvantages of ultrasound
compared with other techniques
• 1. The major disadvantage is that the resolution of images is often
limited.
• This is being overcome as time passes, but there are still many
situations where X-rays produce a much higher resolution.
• 2. Ultrasound is reflected very strongly on passing from tissue to gas,
or vice versa.
• This means that ultrasound cannot be used for examinations of
areas of the body containing gas, such as the lung and the
digestive system.
• 3. Ultrasound also does not pass well through bone, so that the
method is of limited use in diagnosing
fractures. It is possible to obtain quite good ultrasound scans of
the brain, but much greater detail
is obtained by an MRI scan.
 Some Other Applications of Ultrasonics
(1) Ultrasonic guidance for the blind

• Ultrasonic waves are used for guiding the blind who

carries a walking stick containing an ultrasonic
transmitter and receiver.

• Ultrasonic signals reflected from any obstacles are

fed to the head phones through a suitable electronic
circuit which enables the blind person to detect and
estimate the distance of the obstacle.
 (2)Ultrasound in research
• Scientists often use in research, for instant to break
up high molecular weight polymers, thus creating
new plastic materials.
• Indeed, ultrasound also makes it possible to
determine the molecular weight of liquid polymers,
and to conduct other forms of investigation on the
physical properties of materials.
• Ultrasonic can also speed up certain chemical
reactions. Hence it has gained application in
agriculture, that seeds subjected to ultrasound may
germinate more rapidly and produce higher yields.
 Applications of Ultrasonic Waves in Engineering
(1)Detection of flaws in metals (Non Destructive
Testing –NDT)
Principle
• Ultrasonic waves are used to detect the presence
of flaws or defects in the form of cracks,
blowholes porosity etc., in the internal structure
of a material
• By sending out ultrasonic beam and by measuring
the time interval of the reflected beam, flaws in
the metal block can be determined.
 Experimental setup
It consists of an ultrasonic frequency generator and a cathode
ray oscilloscope (CRO),transmitting transducer(A), receiving
transducer(B) and an amplifier.
 Working
• In flaws, there is a change of medium and this
produces reflection of ultrasonic at the cavities or
cracks.
• The reflected beam (echoes) is recorded by using
cathode ray oscilloscope.
• The time interval between initial and flaw echoes
depends on the range of flaw.
• By examining echoes on CRO, flaws can be detected
and their sizes can be estimated.
 Features
• This method is used to detect flaws in all common
structural metals and other materials like rubber
tyres etc.

• The method is very cheap and of high speed of

operation.

• It is more accurate than radiography.

 (2) Ultrasonic Drilling
• Ultrasonics are used for making holes in very
hard materials like glass, diamond etc.
• For this purpose, a suitable drilling tool bit is
fixed at the end of a powerful ultrasonic
generator.
• Some slurry (a thin paste of carborundum
powder and water) is made to flow between
the bit and the plate in which the hole is to
be made
• Ultrasonic generator causes the tool bit to
move up and down very quickly and the slurry
particles below the bit just remove some
material from the plate.
• This process continues and a hole is drilled
in the plate.
 (3) Ultrasonic welding

• The properties of some metals

change on heating and therefore,
such metals cannot be welded by
electric or gas welding.

• In such cases,the metallic sheets

are welded together at room
temperature by using ultrasonic
waves.

• For this purpose, a hammer H is

attached to a powerful ultrasonic
generator as shown in Figure
• The metallic sheets to be welded are put together
under the tip of hammer H.

• The hammer is made to vibrate ultrasonically. As a

result, it presses the two metal sheets very rapidly
and the molecules of one metal diffuse into the
molecules of the other.

• Thus, the two sheets get welded without heating.

This process is known as cold welding.
 (4) Ultrasonic soldering
• Metals like aluminium cannot be directly soldered.
However, it is possible to solder such metals by
ultrasonic waves.
• An ultrasonic soldering iron consists of an
ultrasonic generator having a tip fixed at its end
which can be heated by an electrical heating
element.
• The tip of the soldering iron melts solder on the
aluminium and the ultrasonic vibrator removes the
aluminium oxide layer.
• The solder thus gets fastened to clear metal
without any difficulty.
 (5) Ultrasonic cutting and machining
Ultrasonic waves are used for cutting and machining.

(6) Ultrasonic cleaning

It is the most cheap technique employed for cleaning
various parts of the machine, electronic assembles,
armatures, watches etc., which cannot be easily
cleaned by other methods.
 (7) SONAR
• SONAR is a technique which stands for Sound
Navigation and Ranging.
• It uses ultrasonics for the detection and identification
of under water objects.
• The method consists of sending a powerful beam of
ultrasonics in the suspected direction in water.
• By noting the time interval between the emission and
receipt of beam after reflection, the distance of the
object can be easily calculated.
• The change in frequency of the echo signal due to
the Dopper effect helps to determine the velocity of
the body and its direction.
• Measuring the time interval (t) between the transmitted
pulses and the received pulse, the
vt
distance d  between the transmitter and the remote
2
object is determined using the formula., where v is the
velocity of sound in sea water.
• The same principle is used to find the depth of the sea.

Applications of SONAR

1. Sonar is used in the location of shipwrecks and

submarines on the bottom of the sea.
2. It is used for fish-finding application .
3. It is used for seismic survey. (geophysical survey)
 Worked Problem
• A quartz crystal of thickness 1 mm is vibrating at
resonance. Calculate the fundamental frequency.
Given Y for quartz = 7.9 x 1010Nm-2 and ρ for quartz
= 2650 kg m-3.

The frequency of the vibration

P Y
f =
2t 
Here P = 1
1 7 .9 10 10
f =
2  0 . 001 2650

= 2.72998 x 106 Hz
The fundamental frequency of the quartz
crystal
= 2.730 x 106 Hz = 2.73MHz