Acoustics
- Branch of physics that studies sounds
(of any kind)
- Concepts like frequency & amplitude
- Derived from the Greek word
1. “akoustikos” meaning “of or for
hearing, ready to hear”
2. “akoustos” which means “heard,
audible”
Psychoacoustics
- Study of how sound is perceived;
mostly psychology
- Concepts like pitch, loudness, timbre
- Relationship to physical concepts,
often roughly logarithmic
Sound
- Is a wave that is created by vibrating
objects and propagated through a
medium from one location to another
- Mechanical wave
- Transported by particle-to-particle
interaction
- Carried through air at 345 m/s (770
m.p.h.) as compressions and
rarefactions in air pressure
- Really tiny fluctuations of air pressure
2 lbs
( N /m ∨ psi , square −inch)
- SI unit for pressure: atm (atmospheric
pressure)
Aristotle
- Greek philosopher
- One of the first people to claim that
sound traveled in waves
- Claimed that the quality of sound will
be unchanged and will travel as far as
the waves reaches
Galileo
- Italian Physicist
- Was the first scientist to record the
relationship between the frequency of
the wave to the pitch it produces
- Was able to come to this conclusion
after taking a chisel and scraping it
against a brass plate
- The pitch of the screech varied
directly with the spacing of the
grooves
Marin Mersenne
- French mathematician and monk
- First person to record the speed of
sound as it travels through air in the
year of 1640.
- Mersenn’s speed of sound was shown
to be an error of less than 10%
- “Father of Modern Acoustics”
Ernst Chladni
- “Father of Acoustics”
- For his seminal experimental work on
vibrations.
- Also a well-respected musician and
inventor of musical instruments.
Node
- Lines at rest
- Point along a standing wave where the
wave has minimum amplitude
Christian Doppler
- Austrian Physicist
- Known for developing a mathematical
equation that calculated the frequency
of a wave when the waves of the
 source is moving relatively to the
person/ observer. (Doppler Effect)
- Claimed that as the sources of the
waves moved further away from the
observer, the frequency of the waves
would become lower, therefore, the
person would hear the sound with less
intensity.
- On the other hand, if the source of the
waves moves closer to the observer,
the person would hear the sound with
greater intensity.
( )
c+ v
r
- f = c+ v f 0
s
Temperature and Medium
 Affects speed of sound
Pitch
 Qualitative equivalent for wavelength
Amplitude
 The maximum displacement of a
wave from the equilibrium position
Properties of Waves
 Wavelength is measured from crest-
to-crest (meters)
 For traveling waves (sound, light,
water) there is speed (c)
 Frequency (f ) refers to how many
cycles pass by per second (measured
in Hertz) (T = 1/f )
 These 3 are closely related
 λf = c
Graphing a Sound Wave
- The variation of pressure with
distance is a useful way to represent a
sound wave graphically. But
remember – sound is actually a
longitudinal wave.
Longitudinal vs. Transverse Waves
1. Longitudinal Wave
- Motion of particles is along the
direction of propagation
2. Transverse Wave (water, light)
- Moving perpendicular to the
direction of propagation
Why is Sound Longitudinal?
- Waves in air can’t be transverse
because the atoms/molecules are not
bound to each other
- Air molecules only bump into one
another.
- Gases can’t support shear loads
 The subsequent direction of
motion of individual particles of a
medium is the same as the
direction of vibration of the source
of the disturbance.
 The variation of pressure with
distance is used to represent sound
waves graphically.
Sound Wave Interference and Beats
- Two similar frequencies produce
beats
Interference
- Superposition of 2 sound waves
Types of Interferences:
1. Constructive
- On pace (same)
- Amplitude of the wave increases due
to the wave amplitudes reinforcing
each other
2. Destructive
 - Not on pace (different)
- Amplitude of the waves reduces due
to the wave amplitudes apposing each
other
Sound hitting your eardrum
- Pressure variations displace
membrane (eardrum, microphone)
which can be used to measure sound.
- Speaking voice is moving your
eardrum by a mere
1
1.5 ×10 4 mm=150 nm= wavelength of visible light Animals
4
- 5 ×10−8 mm – threshold of hearing (1/2
diameter of single atom)
- 0.85 mm – pain threshold
- Ear ignores changes slower than 20Hz
- Eardrum can’t be wiggled faster than
about 20 kHz
Frequency of Sound
- vibrating object creates sound
- As sound waves moves through a
medium, each particle of the medium
vibrates at the same frequency.
- Frequency at which each particle
vibrates is the same as the frequency
of the original source of the sound
waves.
- Frequencies of sound as having
different pitch.
- Produced frequency = sound heared
- Low frequency = low pitch
- High frequency = high pitch
- Human ear = 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz
- Sounds with frequency of less than 20
Hz (audible range of hearing) is called
infrasound.
- Sounds with frequency above 20 000
Hz is known as an ultrasounds
Frequency and Music
- Intervals in music – sound waves
producing particularly pleasant
sensations.
- Any two sounds whose frequent
make a 2:1 Ratios are said to be
separated by an octave
- Dogs can detect 50 Hz to 45 000 Hz
- Cats can detect 45 Hz to 85 000 Hz
“Intensity is caused by the Amplitude of
the vibration”
Intensity
- Measured in Decibels (dB)
Depends on:
1. Amplitude
2. Distance from source
The amount of energy transferred to the
medium is dependent on the amplitude of
vibrations
Loudness
- Subjective
- Personal, physical response to the
intensity of sound
- As intensity increases, so does
loudness but loudness also depends on
the listener’s ears and brains
The Decibel Scale
- abbreviated dB, unit used to measure
the intensity of a sound.
 - Is a little odd because human ear is
incredibly sensitive.
- Smallest audible sound (the threshold
of hearing) is 0 dB.
- Sound 10 times more powerful is 10
dB
- Sound 100 times more powerful than
near total silence is 20 Db
- Sound 1,000 times more powerful
than near total silence is 30 dB.

- Threshold of Hearing: 0dB: 10o

- Instant Perforation of Eardrum:
160 dB: 1016
TRIVIA:

1. What is the medical term for ear wax?

 Cerumen
2. Hector Rivera
3. Black Bolt
4. Toha
5. Who produced the loudest scream in
the Guinness world records
 Jill Drake