Producing a Sound Wave

 Sound is defined as any vibrating

disturbance in an elastic medium capable of
producing an auditory sensation
 Sound waves are longitudinal waves
traveling through a medium
 The particles of the medium vibrates and
communicates the energy of vibration to the
surrounding medium, usually the air, where
the wave travels and is detected as sound
 A tuning fork can be used as an example of
producing a sound wave
 Using a Tuning Fork

 As the tuning fork continues to vibrate, a

succession of compressions and rarefactions
spread out from the fork
 A sinusoidal curve can be used to represent
the longitudinal wave
 Crests correspond to compressions and troughs to
rarefactions
 Human Hearing

 Intensity
 volume of sound
 depends on energy (amplitude) of sound wave
 measured in decibels (dB)

 The greater the intensity of sound the farther the sound

will travel and the louder the sound will appear.
 Music vs. Noise `
 Music
 specific pitches and
sound quality
 regular pattern

 Noise
 no definite pitch
 no set pattern
Various Intensities of Sound
 Threshold of hearing
 Faintest sound most humans can hear
 About 1 x 10-12 W/m2

 Threshold of pain
 Loudest sound most humans can tolerate
 About 1 W/m2
Intensity of Sound Waves
 The average intensity of a wave is the rate at
which the energy flows through a unit area, A,
oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel of
the wave
1 E 
I  
A t A

 The rate of energy transfer is the power

 Units are W/m2
 Intensity Level of Sound Waves
 The sensation of loudness is logarithmic in the
human hear
 The most common approach to sound intensity
measurement is to use the decibel scale
 Decibels measure the ratio of a given intensity I to
the threshold of hearing intensity, so that this
threshold takes the value 0 decibels (0 dB).

I 
I dB   10 log 10   in decibels
1 dB = 1/10 bel

 Io 
12 watts 16 watts
 Io is the threshold of hearing ., I o  10  10
m2 cm 2
 Ex:

A sound has an intensity of 3x10 W / m What is the sound level in dB?

8 2

Solution:

 3x10 8W / m 2 
Intensity level in dB  10 log  
 1x10 12W / m 2   10 
log 3 x 
10 4
 44.8dB
 
 Intensity of a Point Source
 Since the intensity varies as 1/r2, this is an
inverse square relationship
 The average power is the same through
any spherical surface centered on the
source
 To compare intensities at two locations,
the inverse square relationship can be
used I r 2
1
 2
2
I2 r
1
Speed of Sound in a Liquid
 In a liquid, the speed depends on the
liquid’s compressibility and inertia

B
v 

 B is the Bulk Modulus of the liquid
 ρ is the mass density of the liquid
 Speed of Sound in a Solid Rod
 The speed depends on the rod’s compressibility
and inertial properties

Y
v

 Y is the Young’s Modulus of the material
 ρ is the mass density of the material
Speed of Sound in Air at a
Temperature, t

Vot  33,200 cm / s  60t

Vo  332 m / s  0.6t
 Resonance

 Forced Vibration
 when one vibrating object
forces another object to
vibrate at the same frequency
 results in a louder sound
because a greater surface area
is vibrating
 used in guitars, pianos, etc.

• object is induced to vibrate at

its natural frequency
Beats
 Beats are alternations in loudness, due to interference
 Waves have slightly different frequencies and the time
between constructive and destructive interference
alternates
 The beat frequency equals the difference in frequency
between the two sources:

ƒb  ƒ2  ƒ1
Standing Waves in Air Columns
 If one end of the air column is closed, a node
must exist at this end since the movement of
the air is restricted
 If the end is open, the elements of the air
have complete freedom of movement and an
antinode exists
 Resonance in an Air Column
Closed at One End
 The closed end must be a node
 The open end is an antinode

v
f nc  n  n ƒ1 n  1, 3, 5,
4L
 There are no even multiples of the
fundamental harmonic
Tube Closed at One End
(Closed Tube)
Resonance in Air Column Open
at Both Ends

 In a pipe open at both ends, the natural

frequency of vibration forms a series whose
harmonics are equal to integral multiples of
the fundamental frequency
v
ƒ no  n  n ƒ1 n  1, 2, 3,
2L
Tube Open at Both Ends
(Open Tube)
 Doppler Effect
 A Doppler effect is experienced whenever there is relative
motion between a source of waves and an observer.
Ex:
 When the source and the observer are moving toward
each other, the observer hears a higher frequency
 When the source and the observer are moving away from
each other, the observer hears a lower frequency

Assumptions:
• The air is stationary
• All speed measurements are made relative
to the stationary medium
 Doppler Effect
 As the source moves
toward the observer
(A), the wavelength
appears shorter and
the frequency
increases
 As the source moves
away from the
observer (B), the
wavelength appears
longer and the
frequency appears to
be lower
 Doppler Effect, General
Equation
 Both the source and the observer could be moving
Stationary source of sound, vs=0
Stationary observer, vo = 0
Moving source of sound, vs = - if → (toward the observer)
= + if ← (away from the observer)
Examples
1. An ambulance travels down a highway at a speed of 33.5
m/s, its siren emitting sound at a frequency of 400 Hz.
What frequency is heard by a passenger in a car travelling
at 24.6 m/s in the opposite direction as the ambulance:
a) approach each other
b) pass and move away from each other?
(Take the speed of sound in air to be 345 m/s)

2. A man standing in front of a concrete wall fired a gun and

received an echo 5 seconds later upon firing. If the air
temperature is 30 oC, how far is the man from the wall?
3. A metal rod 100 cm long is clamped at Lr⁄2 and rubbed
with a piece of rosined cloth to produce sound. The length
of powder segment heaps inside the tube is 8 cm. If the air
temperature is 20oC, find a) frequency of sound emitted by
the rod & b) velocity of sound in the rod.

4. What is the shortest length of a column of air closed at one

end so that a sound of 420 Hz can cause it to vibrate?
What would be the next shortest length? Assume the
speed of sound to be 335 m/s.
5. A closed pipe at its third harmonic and an open pipe at its
second harmonic are vibrating at the same place and
produce 4 beats (vps) with the open pipe emitting the
louder sound. If the length of the closed pipe is 80 cm
and air temperature is 30oC. Find the length of the open
pipe.
6. A railroad is struck by a hammer and an observer hears two
sounds, one from air and one from the rail with the time
interval of 4 seconds and air temperature of 25⁰C. If the
Yrail= 20 X 1011dynes/cm2 and ρrail= 7.8 g/cm3, how far is
the source from the observer?
7. An object is dropped into a deep well which has a layer of
water in its bottom. If the well is 60 m deep with an air
temperature of 20⁰C, how long after the object is dropped
will the splash be heard?

8. A train travelling at 20 m/s along a straight track passes an

observer who is moving in the same direction as the train at
4 m/s. When the train is approaching the observer hears a
note of 400 Hz. If the air temperature is 0 ⁰C, what is the
frequency of sound heard by the observer as the train
passed?