Waves & Sound

wave
A wave is a disturbance that propagates
through space and time, usually with
transferrance of energy.
mechanical wave exists in a medium (which on
deformation is capable of producing elastic
restoring forces)
 waves of electromagnetic
radiation (and probably
gravitational radiation) can
travel through vacuum, that
is, without a medium.
 classes of wave
According to what they move through (Medium)
 Electromagnetic waves
 Mechanical Waves
Electromagnetic Waves: Waves that can travel
through matter or empty space where matter is
not present. Examples includes;
• radio waves
• microwaves
• infrared waves
• visible light
• ultraviolet rays
• X-rays
 Types of wave
Mechanical Waves:
 require the particles of the medium to vibrate
in order for energy to be transferred.
 Needs a medium
Types includes
• water waves
• earthquake/seismic waves
• sound waves
• waves that travel down a rope or spring
• Mechanical Waves  Electromagnetic Waves
– Must travel through  Does not require a
a medium medium
– Cannot travel  Can be transferred
through a vacuum through a vacuum
– Examples: sound,  Examples: light, UV
ocean waves rays, Visible light
 classes of wave
According to how particles move through them
 Transverse waves
 Longitudinal Waves
Transverse Waves: Particles move
perpendicular to the motion of the wave

Longitudinal Waves (compressional waves)

• medium moves in the same direction as the
wave’s motion (sound, springs, slinky)
 Types of wave
Plane waves: have a
propagation direction and
therefore plane wave-fronts
(e.g. sunlight which gets to
earth, light beam of a laser)

Spherical waves: Propagate

radial. The wave fronts are
spherical (e.g. the sound of a
explosion)
 Properties of sound
Wavelength
• The wavelength (denoted as λ) is the distance
between two sequential crests (or troughs).
• This generally has the unit of meters;
• commonly measured in nanometers for the
optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
 Properties of sound
Wavelength
• A wavenumber k can be
associated with the wavelength
by the relation
• Period – This is the time taken for
one complete oscillation. This is
measured in seconds(s) and
represented with the letter ‘T’.
• Frequency – This is the number of
oscillations per second. This is represented
with ‘f’ and measured in Hertz (Hz).
Properties of sound
 Properties of sound
Amplitude (loudness)
 The amplitude or loudness of a sound wave is
expressed by its sound pressure level.
 Sounds having the
same wavelength
(equal frequency)
may have differing
loudness
 Properties of sound
Amplitude (loudness)
 sound pressure of a sound wave may vary
over a wide range
 a change in magnitude of ten million to one —
sound pressure is expressed using a
logarithmic scale.
 the decibel (dB) scale, compresses the range
of sound pressure into a scale from 0-150.
 The (dB) is not a measure of amplitude or
loudness, but expresses the ratio between a
given sound pressure and a reference sound
pressure.
 Properties of sound
Amplitude (loudness)
This relationship is expressed by the
following equation:
(Lp) = 10 log (P/Pre)2
Where:
Lp is the Sound Pressure Level
P is the Sound Pressure (Pa)
Pre is the sound pressure at the
threshold of hearing (0.00002 Pa)
Properties of sound
 Properties of sound
Frequency (pitch)
 it is the highness or lowness of a tone
determined by the rapidity of the
oscillations producing it.
 Sound is a form of mechanical energy
transmitted by vibration of the molecules
of whatever medium the sound is
passing through.
 The number of cycles per second made
by a sound wave is termed its frequency.
 Properties of sound
Frequency (pitch)
 Properties of sound
Frequency (pitch)
 Healthy young human beings hear
frequencies as low as 20 Hz and as high as
20,000 Hz.
 At middle age this range is 70 to 14,000 Hz.
 By comparison, the frequency range of a
piano keyboard is 31.5 Hz to 8,000 Hz.
 Because human hearing is most acute to
frequencies in the region of 4000 Hz, we hear
a 4000 Hz tone as being louder than a tone at
some other frequency, even though the
acoustical energy, or sound power, may be
the same.
 Properties of sound
 Velocity of sound – This is the rate at
which a sound wave travels from a source
through a medium to the receiver. The
unit is m/s.
 The speed of sound in air is
approximately 1,130 feet per second.
 In steel it is approximately 16,360 feet
per second, and in water 4,900 feet per
second.
 The denser the medium, the faster
sound travels in that medium.
 Properties of sound
Velocity of sound –
 Wave velocity depends on the type of
wave and medium.
 Sound is faster in more dense media
and in higher temps.
 Properties of sound
Velocity of sound –
 The speed of a sound wave in air at a
temperature T is given by the formula:

The temperature must be expressed in

Kelvin
 Behavior of sound in an enclosed space -
• An enclosed space is a room or area bounded on
every of its sides.
• The materials may be those that
a)allow sound rays to pass through
b)do not allow sound rays to pass through.
• Areas bounded with materials that allow sound rays to
pass through tend to enjoy good acoustic as the effect
of indirect sound from reflection is reduced within the
space.
• Sound from external source can pass into the
enclosure as background noise.
• The vibration of some of the materials can be a
source of noise within the space which affects clarity
and audibility of speech/music.
Behavior of sound in an enclosed space -
Behavior of sound in an enclosed space -

On encountering barriers posed by the

enclosure, sound waves are likely to behave in
the following ways:
a)Reflection
b)Absorption
c)Refraction
d)Diffusion
e)Diffraction
f) Transmission
a)Reflection
• Occurs when the
wavelength of a sound
wave is smaller than the
surface of an obstacle.
• waves reflected depends
on the smoothness, size,
and softness of the
materials of enclosure.
• The angle of incidence of sound rays is equal
to that of the reflected rays only if the surface
of the reflector is flat. But when it is curved,
Reflection
b) Absorption
• When sound waves hit the surface of an
obstacle, some are lost through its transfer to
the molecules of the barrier.
• The lost sound energy is said to have been
absorbed by the barrier.
• The thickness and
nature of the material
as regards its softness
and hardness
influences the amount
of sound energy
absorbed.
c) Refraction
• This is the bending of
sound when it travels from
one medium into another
medium.

• The difference in the composition of the two

different media bends the sound i.e. the angle
of incidence changes into an angle of
refraction as it travels into the new medium.
d) Diffusion
• This is the scattering of waves from a surface.
• It occurs as a result of the texture and
hardness of the obstacle is comparable to the
wavelength of the sound.
• The direction of the incident ray changes when
it strikes the surface of the obstacle.
• Satisfaction is achieved when sound is heard in
all direction at equal level.
Diffusion
d) Diffraction
• When the wavelength of a sound wave is
smaller or equal to the size of the obstacle, the
sound rays tend to bend round the edge of the
obstacle thereby turning the edge to a sound
source.
e) Transmission
• sound wave is carried by molecules of the
obstacle through vibration and re-emitted at the
other side irrespective of the medium.
• It can be structure borne, air borne or impact
sound.
Factors influencing behavior of sound in an
enclosed space includes:
a)Reduction in its intensity of sound – due to
the distance between source & receiver.
b)Absorption of direct sound by the audience –
listeners absorb sound while hearing.
c)Absorption of direct and reflected sound by
surfaces – walls, ceiling and floor of the
enclosure absorbs & reflects sound waves
thereby controlling the behavior of sound.
d)Reflection of sounds from right-angled
corners - if surfaces are acoustically
reflective. This can in turn produce echoes
especially in large spaces.
Factors influencing behavior of sound in an
enclosed space includes:
d) Dispersion of the sides of an enclosure -
Reflections can be controlled by making one
surface dispersive i.e. not at right angle to
each.
e)Edge diffraction of sound - causes the
obstacles to scatter the sound waves making
it behave like a source of sound.
f) Primary reflection – This depends on the
angle of incidence which is equal to the angle
of reflection. Also, the nature of sound
reflector is important.
Factors influencing behavior of sound in an
enclosed space includes:

g) Panel resonance - Sound waves can

propagate "through" a solid material by
panel vibration.
The sound does not actually penetrate the
material but rather causes this to vibrate
and act as a sound source itself.
The panel will be vibrated by both direct
and reflected sound waves.
 decibel
• The basic unit of level in acoustics is the
“decibel” (abbreviated dB).
• is a unit expressing the ratio of two quantities
that are proportional to power.
• The decibel level is equal to 10 times the
common logarithm of the power ratio
 Sabine Formula
• Prof. Wallace C. Sabine of Harvard University
investigated architectural acoustics
scientifically, particularly with reference to
reverberation time.
• He deduced experimentally, that the
reverberation time is:
directly proportional to the volume of the
hall
inversely proportional to the effective
absorbing surface area of the walls and
the materials inside the hall
 Sabine Formula

where, V is the volume of the hall, ‘a’ is the

absorption coefficient of an area S.
If the volume is measured in cubic feet and
area in square feet, then the experimentally
obtained value of the constant of
proportionality, according to Sabine is 0.05.
 Sabine Formula

 If the area is measured in square meters and

the volume in cubic meters, then Sabine’s
formula can be written
 Sabine Formula
1. For an empty assembly hall of size 20 × 15 × 10
cubic meter with absorption coefficient 0.106.
Calculate reverberation time.
2. A hall of volume 5500 m3 is found to have a
reverberation time of 2.3 seconds. The sound
absorbing surface of the hall has an area of 750
m2. Calculate the average absorption coefficient.
3. For an empty hall of size 20 × 12 × 12 cubic meter,
the reverberation time is 2.5 seconds Calculate the
average absorption co-efficient of the hall. What
area of the floor should be covered by carpet so as
to reduce the reverberation time to 2 seconds.
Given that absorption co-efficient of carpet is 0.5.
 Sabine Formula
4. A hall with dimensions 16 × 10 × 10 cubic meter is found to
have reverberation time 4 seconds. What is the total
absorbing power of all the surfaces in the hall?
5. For an empty assembly hall of size 20 × 15 × 10 m3, the
reverberation time is 3.5 seconds. Calculate the average
absorption co-efficient of the hall. What area of the wall
should be covered by the curtain so as to reduce the
reverberation time to 2.5 seconds? Given the absorption
co-efficient of the curtain cloth is 0.5. (Ans.: 0.106, 140.12
m2)
6. The volume of the room is 1200 m3. The wall area is 220
m2, the floor area is 120 m2, ceiling area 120 m2. The
average sound absorption coefficient – (i) for wall is 0.03,
(ii) for ceiling 0.8 and (iii) for floor is 0.06. Calculate the
average sound absorption coefficient and reverberation
time. (Ans.: 0.24 and T = 1.76 s)