Embark on a journey through the invisible yet omnipresent world of sound waves. Discover their nature, their creation, and their journey through various mediums. Unravel the mystery of how these unseen forces shape our perception of the audible world.
What are sound waves and how do they work?
Sound waves are powerful vibrations that can communicate ideas, evoke fond memories, start fights, entertain an audience, scare the heck out of us, or help us fall in love
- They can trigger a range of emotions and they even cause physical damage
The Shape of Things to Come
Sound waves are a type of energy that is released when an object vibrates
- They travel from their source through a medium, like air or water, and when they come into contact with our eardrums, our brains translate the pressure waves into words or music, or signals we can understand
- We can experience sound waves in ways that are more physical, not just physiological
- If sound waves reach a microphone, it transforms them into electronic impulses that are turned back into sound by vibrating speakers
Speed of sound
Sound travels at 1,127 feet per second, or 767.54 miles per hour.
- Knowing these numbers lets you estimate the distance of a lightning strike by counting the time between the flash and thunder’s boom-if you count to 10, it’s approximately 11,270 feet away, or about a quarter-mile.
Freq on a leash
Frequency refers to how fast these longitudinal waves move from peak to trough and back to peak
- The average frequency range of human hearing is 20-20,000 Hz
- You can precisely tune an instrument by analyzing the frequencies of its strings
- Recording engineers can dial in equalization settings that help sculpt the sound of the music they’re mixing
- Car designers work with frequencies to help make engines quieter
- Active noise-cancelling headphones and earphones use artificial intelligence and algorithms to measure external frequencies and generate inverse waves to cancel them out
A stimulating experience
Anyone can benefit from understanding the fundamentals of sound and what are sound waves.
- Having a better understanding of the physics of sound opens up wonderful new ways to explore and experience the world around us. Now, go out there and make some noise!
Getting amped
Amplitude equates to sound’s volume or intensity
- We measure amplitude in decibels (dB).
- The dB scale is logarithmic, which means there’s a fixed ratio between measurement units.
- If the knob on your guitar amp has evenly spaced steps numbered one through five, the volume won’t increase evenly as you turn the dial from marker to marker
- Turn the dial again and your amp becomes 64 dB louder
Timbre and envelope are two characteristics of sound waves that help determine why, say, two instruments can play the same chords but sound nothing alike
Timbre is determined by the unique harmonics formed by the combination of notes in a chord.
- Envelopes determine how a sound’s amplitude changes over time.
