D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley

Sound
A physical phenomenon that stimulates the
sense of hearing.
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Sound is transmitted as wave motion through a
medium such as air, water or metal.
Waves are divided into types according to the
direction of displacement of the medium in
relation to the direction of the motion of the wave
itself.
Two basic classifications are transverse and
longitudinal waves.
Sound Waves
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An example of a transverse wave is the ripples on the
surface of water. The vibration of the water surface is at
right angles (up and down) to the direction of motion (out
from the disturbance).
Transverse Waves
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Sound
Longitudinal Waves
If the vibration is parallel to the direction of motion, as it
is with sound, the wave is known as a longitudinal wave.
As the sound wave is propagated outward from the
centre of disturbance, the individual air molecules move
back and forth, parallel to the direction of wave motion.
Each individual molecule passes the energy on to
neighbouring molecules, but after the sound wave has
passed, each molecule remains in about the same
location in space (cf. Newton's cradle).
NewtonsCradle.htm
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/waves/wavemotion.html
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Pressure
Increase
Compression and Rarefaction
Sound
Thus, a sound wave is a series of alternate compression
(increase in density) and rarefaction (decrease in
density) events in the medium e.g. air.
Position
A graph of the pressure against distance at an instant in
time is
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Amplitude
Sound
For a transverse wave, the wavelength is the distance between two
successive crests or troughs. For longitudinal waves, it is the
shortest distance between two peak compressions.
Wavelength and Amplitude
Wavelength
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Velocity
Sound in steel moves at a speed of just under 5000
m/sec.
The speed of sound in water, is roughly 1500 m/sec at
ordinary temperatures but increases greatly with an
increase in temperature.
The speed of sound in the air around us is roughly 1/3
km/s i.e. 333 m/s
Thus to travel the 3 m length of an average living room,
sound will take t = 3/333 s
= 0.009 s
= 9 ms
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Frequency, Velocity and Wavelength
The frequency of the wave is the number of vibrations (complete
cycles) per second. The unit is the Hertz (Hz).
The velocity of the wave, which is the speed at which it advances,
is equal to the wavelength times the frequency.
Velocity (m/s) = wavelength (m) x frequency (Hz)
Mathematically v = x f m/s
So a 1kHz tone in air has a wavelength,
= v/f m
= 333/1000 m
= 0.333 m
slightly longer than a 12 ruler, or roughly 2*(your ear separation)
1 kHz sine
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Standing waves
It also vibrates in halves, with a node at the centre, in thirds and in
various other fractions, all simultaneously.
Such vibrational modes also occur within cavities e.g. a room or
the bore of a flute. A room can support a standing wave with a
node at each pair of opposing walls.
Standing (stationary) waves disturb, but do not travel through the
transmission medium. They are present e.g. in the vibrating strings
of musical instruments and other places.
node
node
anti-node
Violin
string
A violin string when bowed or
plucked, vibrates as a whole with
a node (minimum) at each end and
an anti-node (maximum) in the
middle.
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Harmonics
The vibration as a whole produces the fundamental (basic) tone,
and the other vibrations produce the various harmonic tones.
A harmonic is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency
e.g. 2 x fundamental, 3 x fundamental, etc.
So a sound consisting of components at frequencies of 1000 Hz
and 3000 Hz would contain a 3rd harmonic of the 1 kHz
fundamental.
1 kHz sine 1 kHz sine + 3kHz sine
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Amplitude
The amplitude of a sound wave is the degree of motion of air
molecules within the wave, which corresponds to the extent of
rarefaction and compression that accompanies the wave.
The greater the amplitude of the wave, the harder the molecules
strike the ear drum or microphone diaphragm and the louder the
sound that is transduced.
The amplitude of a sound wave can be expressed in absolute units
by measuring the actual distance moved by the air molecules, or the
pressure difference in the compression and rarefaction, or the
energy involved.
Ordinary speech, for example, produces sound energy at a power
level of about one hundred-thousandth of a watt (10
-5
W = 10W)
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Sound Intensity & Level
These measurements are extremely difficult to make, so the
intensity of sounds is generally expressed as an equivalent sound
level.
This is done by comparing any sound to a standard sound intensity
I
standard
, which is the intensity of the quietest 1kHz tone the average
human can hear (the threshold of hearing).
This threshold of hearing is equivalent to an air pressure change of
20 micro Pascals (20 Pa).
A sound wave that produces an air pressure change of 10 Pa is
painful and dangerous to hearing.
Normal atmospheric pressure is 100,000 Pa.
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Sound Level and the Decibel
The sound intensity of normal conversational speech is around 10
5
(i.e. 100,000) times that of whispered speech.
So that we can conveniently discuss and graph such a huge range
of values, sound intensity (power) level is defined using a
logarithm and is measured in decibels (dB).
Sound intensity level = 10 log
10
(I
sound
/ I
standard
) dB
which means that a 10 times multiplication in sound intensity
corresponds to an additional 10 dB of sound level, and an increase
from sound intensity P
1
to 2*P
1
(i.e. a two times increase in power)
corresponds to 10 log
10
(2*P
1
/P
1
) = 3 dB.
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
A sound with an intensity equal to threshold of hearing has a level of 0
dB. The sound level of whispering is typically about 10 dB, and the
sound level of normal conversational speech is around 60 dB.
The Level of Various Sounds
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
The Inverse-Square Law
The intensity of the sound received varies inversely as the square
of the distance R from the source i.e. as 1/R
2
.
In the open air, sound will be roughly nine times less intense at a
distance of 3 m from its origin, as at a distance of 1 m.
Objects in our surroundings produce reflection (echo), absorption
and scattering of the sound waves, so that the inverse-square law is
often not applicable in direct measurements of the intensity of
sound.
However, it can be used as a rough indication when away from
reflecting surfaces e.g. in the open air away from walls, cliffs, etc.
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Echos and Reverberation
An echo is the perceived reflection of sound from a surface. The
fraction of sound level reflected is known as the reflection
coefficient, 0 < = <= 1.
The time difference between the echo and the direct sound depends
on the distances travelled and the speed of sound. The difference
must be greater than about 100ms to be perceived as an echo.
Echo
Path
d
2
d
1
Direct
Path
d
0
= (d
1
+ d
2
)/v
r(t) = s(t- d
0
/v) + s(t- ) Source s(t)
Ear
r(t)
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Room Reverberation
The reverberant
character of a room is
due to the accumulated
reflections from all the
surfaces (walls, floor,
ceiling, other objects)
adding to the direct
sound.
Multiple level
reflections occur as
well as single ones.
Source
Ear
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Time History
We can draw graphs of the variation of sound intensity or level
against time to show the Time History of a sound.
I__ am______ g_ui__l_______t___ y
Time
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Spectrum
Since many sounds contain various frequency components it is
often useful to display a sound Spectrum, that is a graph of sound
level against frequency over a short period of time.
AM
Frequency
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
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Spectrogram
The variation of intensity with time and frequency can be
displayed as a Spectrogram by representing intensity by colour or
brightness on a Frequency vs Time axis.
I__ a_m_______ g_ui___l_______t____y___
Time
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
A Software Tool for Examining and
Manipulating Sound
Load Cool Edit with a sound file
D R Campbell School of Computing University of Paisley
Questions
Since an air pressure change of 10 Pa is dangerous to hearing, and
normal atmospheric pressure is 100,000 Pa, why are we all not
deaf ?
What would a two times decrease in sound intensity be in dB ?
In designing the sound effects for a computer game, you want to
simulate the sound of being in a big room in a stone-built castle.
What would you need to consider and how could you do it?