Chapter 17: Waves II

Sound waves are one example of Longitudinal Waves

Sound waves are pressure waves: Oscillations in air pressure and air density
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Before we can understand pressure waves in detail, we need to

understand what happens in a gas (or liquid).

w/o waves: Gas molecules A pressure wave coming from one side adds a
move around randomly. velocity component to all gas molecules in an area
Collide every ~100nm. which points into one specific direction. Now you
These collisions create the have more collisions where one gas molecule comes
static and homogeneous from a specific direction. This compresses the gas in
pressure. one area and pushes the neighboring gas molecules
to move into that direction and pick up a velocity
component into that direction.
Chapter 17: Waves II

w: Velocity of 'walls'
of volume element V,
V not the wave velocity!

V
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Variations of pressure along x-axis Forces on volume element V=Ax

Left side of V moves with w, right side with w+(dw/dx)x

After time dt, both sides moved by different amount Changes Volume

This creates a pressure change inside the volume element (B:Bulk modulus):
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Two coupled differential equations for pressure and velocity:

Wave equation for pressure

Wave equation for velocity of V (not of the wave!)

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Speed of sound:

Compressibility:
The fractional change of volume of a material for a
given pressure change.

Bulk modulus is 1/compressibility.

 Chapter 17: Waves II

Connects the amplitude of the motion with the amplitude

of the pressure change

Pressure Change: This always understand as pressure difference

compared with the average difference -> p=p0+p0sin(kx-wt)
 Chapter 17: Waves II

What are typical values?

The maximum pressure difference our ear can tolerate is
about 28Pa = 28N/m2, the minimum difference a good
ear can hear is 28Pa.
The normal air pressure is 105Pa!
What displacement does this correspond to?
Lets assume for a frequency of 1000Hz.
The density of air is 1.21kg/m3 and
the velocity of sound is 343m/s
 Chapter 17: Waves II

6 orders of magnitude in terms of amplitude:

11um smaller than the thickness of a piece of paper!
11pm is 1/10 of the radius of a small atom!

Why are our ears not even more sensitive?

If we would hear a bit better, we start to 'hear' the
thermal motion of the gas atoms, a permanent white
noise floor.
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Interference:
Two waves interfere constructively if their pressure maxima are in phase:

Phase difference:
=2N
+

Two waves interfere destructively if their pressure maxima are 180deg out of phase:

Phase difference:
=(2N+1)
+
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Phasor diagrams:

General case: Constructive Interference Destructive Interference

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Interference:

L
2 loud speakers (assume point sources) generating identical signals at a frequency f.
A microphone is measuring the amplitude of the resulting wave as a function
of its position.
The amplitude will be high when the waves interfere constructively and low when
they interfere destructively:
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Example: Two point sources separated by 16m emit coherent sound waves
with =2m. The waves are generated with the same amplitude and phase.

When P is far away what are

a) the phase difference between the waves?
b) the type of interference (constructive or destructive)?
c) Now move P along the axis closer to the upper source. Does the phase
difference increase of decrease?
 Chapter 17: Waves II

When P is far away what are

a) the phase difference between the waves?
b) the type of interference (constructive or destructive)?
c) Now move P along the axis closer to the upper source. Does the phase
difference increase of decrease?

a) b) Constructive

c) Increases (can't get smaller than 0)

 Chapter 17: Waves II

Example: Two point sources separated by 16m emit coherent sound waves
with =2m. The waves are generated with the same amplitude and phase.

At what distances L1 do the waves have a phase difference of

d) e) 2 f) 3
*Note that the book states phase difference of d) 0.5 e) f) 1.5
This is a length difference, the language is sometimes a little unprecise.

Obviously (?):
A phase difference of happens when the length difference is 0.5
 Chapter 17: Waves II

General calculation:

Individual solutions:
Chapter 17: Waves II

=kL =kL
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Waves with identical frequencies but different amplitudes and initial phases:
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Intensity = Average Power/Area

= Average Energy transferred
per unit time through a unit area

Average: Averaged over several wavelength <cos2>=0.5=<sin2>

Recall the energy transported by a string:

We looked at dK/dt and dU/dt

The kinetic energy is obviously related to the longitudinal speed w of

the gas molecules.
The potential energy must then be related to the pressure changes
p in the pressure wave (the potential to accelerate gas molecules
in a particular direction)
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Derived this earlier:

 Chapter 17: Waves II

Intensity is proportional to:

Density

Velocity of sound

} or amplitude of
Angular frequency (or frequency) squared

Amplitude of displacement squared

transversal velocity
squared
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Variations with Distance:

We know from daily experience that
You can't hear me in the back row when I don't use the

microphone.
some rooms have a very good acoustic:

concert halls etc. direct the sound to the audience

The changes in intensity depends on the environment (e.g. walls

reflect the sound waves) and the source type (e.g. loud speakers
which direct the sound waves). Can be complex.

But for an idealized point source of Power P P

I=
in otherwise empty space: 4r2

Intensity falls off as distance2

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P
I= A=4r2 Area of a sphere with radius r
4r2

Why? Energy is conserved.

The amount of energy going

through each sphere is
the same (assuming
no absorption or damping)

Recall that the intensity is proportional to

the amplitudes squared the amplitudes fall off with 1/r !
General result for all waves:
p ~ 1/r and w ~ 1/r and I ~ 1/r2
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Interference and Intensity:

Remember that the amplitudes p and/or w (or s) interfere:

This helps because in most cases we measure only intensities and

not amplitudes.
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Assume we have one idealized point source at x=0 generating

a spherical wave which has an intensity of I=1mW/m2 at x=1m.
Assume we add now an identical point source at x=-2m generating
a spherical wave of the same frequency and power and assume that
both waves interfere constructively at x=1m.
What is the intensity at x=1m now?

Source 2 Source 1 Detector

Intensities fall off with distance squared. Source 2 is 3 times further

away its intensity is 9 times lower.
The interference is constructive (phase difference=0) and the cos-term is 1

well above 1+1/9=1.11

Energy is still conserved, there are other areas where the waves interfere destructively
 Chapter 17: Waves II

6 orders of magnitude in terms of amplitude

12 orders of magnitude in terms of intensity

For these large ranges, it is more convenient to use the

logarithmic scale.
Recall: 10y=x y=log(x)

Usually talking about sound level and not intensity:

 Chapter 17: Waves II

Recall: 10y=x y=log(x)

Usually talking about sound level and not intensity:

Typical examples:
Hearing threshold 0dB The log-scale is actually
leaves in the wind 10dB very good to describe sound
Conversation 60dB on a human scale.
Rock Concert 110dB Our perception of loudness
Pain threshold 120dB (intensity) is also roughly
Jet engine 130dB logarithmic.
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Assume we have one idealized point source at x=0 generating

a spherical wave which has an intensity of I=1mW/m2 at x=1m.
Assume we add now an identical point source at x=-2m generating
a spherical wave of the same frequency and power and assume that
both waves interfere destructively at x=1m.
What is the intensity at x=1m now?

Source 2 Source 1 Detector

A: 2mW/m2 C: 1mW/m2
E: 0.5mW/m2
B: 0.25mW/m2 D: 0mW/m2
 Chapter 17: Waves II

Assume we have one idealized point source at x=0 generating

a spherical wave which has an intensity of I=1mW/m2 at x=1m.
Assume we add now an identical point source at x=-2m generating
a spherical wave of the same frequency and power and assume that
both waves interfere destructively at x=1m.
What is the intensity at x=1m now?

Source 2 Source 1 Detector

B: 0.25mW/m2

destructive
 Interference

Interference between two waves of different frequency,

but same amplitude, and propagation direction: