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Acoustics and Sound

The document provides an overview of acoustics, defining it as the study of sound, its production, transmission, and effects. It discusses key characteristics of sound including pitch, loudness, quality, and intensity, as well as concepts like echo and reverberation. Additionally, it introduces Sabine's formula for calculating reverberation time in a room.

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7 views4 pages

Acoustics and Sound

The document provides an overview of acoustics, defining it as the study of sound, its production, transmission, and effects. It discusses key characteristics of sound including pitch, loudness, quality, and intensity, as well as concepts like echo and reverberation. Additionally, it introduces Sabine's formula for calculating reverberation time in a room.

Uploaded by

s78859850
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Acoustics

Mr. Arpit Maheshwari


HOD, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University Polytechnic
Email – [email protected]

Acoustics
The branch of physics that is concerned with the study of sound is known as acoustics. We can define acoustics
as, ‘The science that deals with the study of sound and its production, transmission, and effects.”

Sound
A sound is a vibration that propagates through a medium in the form of a mechanical wave. The medium in
which it propagates can either be a solid, a liquid or a gas. Sound travels fastest in solids, relatively slower in
liquids and slowest in gases.
In physics, the sound is defined as “A vibration that propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through a
medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.”

Characteristics of Sound

1. Pitch - Pitch is defined as the characteristic of sound which is used for differentiating between the shrill and
flat sound.
 This depends on the frequency of vibration of the waves.
 If the frequency of vibration is higher, we say that the sound is shrill and has a high pitch. On the other
hand, if the sound is said to have a lower pitch then it has a lower frequency of vibration.
 A bird produces a high-pitched sound whereas roaring of a lion is a low-pitched sound.
 The voice of a woman has a higher pitch than that of a man.
2. Loudness
The loudness is a sensation of how strong a sound wave is at a place. It is always a relative term and is a
dimensionless quantity. Loudness is measured in decibel (dB). It is given as:

L = log(I), here ‘I’ is the intensity.

 It is directly proportional to the square of the amplitude of vibration. If the amplitude of the sound wave
becomes double, then the loudness of the sound will be quadrupled.
 It is expressed in decibel (dB).
 Sounds above 80 dB becomes noise to human ears.

3. Quality or timbre - The quality or timbre of sound is that characteristic which enables us to distinguish one
sound from another having the same pitch and loudness. The sound which is more pleasant is said to be of a rich
quality.

4. Sound Intensity - Sound intensity however is defined as the proportion of energy that flows per unit time
across a unit area perpendicular to the direction of travel of such sound waves.

 Sound intensity is denoted by “I”.


 The SI unit of sound intensity is W/m2.
 Formula: I=P/A. Here, P is the power, and A is the area.

Echo and Reverberation

Reverberation is the persistence of sound after the sound source has been stopped. It results from a large
number of reflected waves which can be perceived by the brain as a continuous sound.

On the other hand, an echo occurs when a pulse of sound can be heard twice. It is normally assumed that if there
is a delay of 50ms or more between the first and the second sound reaching the ear, then they will be perceived
by the brain as separate events rather than one extended event.
Echo: Reverberation:
Reverberation is defined as persistence of sound in
Echo may be a reflection of sound which arrives at the
an enclosure after the sound producing source is
listener sometime after the sound is produced. Echo may
removed. Reverberation is multiple reflections of
be a single reflection of sound.
sound.
An echo occurs when a pulse of sound is often heard Reverberation is that the persistence of sound after
twice. the sound source has been stopped.
it's normally assumed that if there's a delay of 50ms or
It results from an outsized number of reflected
more between the primary and therefore the second sound
waves which may be perceived by the brain as
reaching the ear, then they're going to be perceived by the
endless sound.
brain as separate events instead of one extended event.

Reverberation time

Reverberation time is usually defined as the length of the time when the sound decays by about
60 decibels starting from the initial level. In the process of reverberation, the time delay is said to be not less
than 0.1 second, i.e. the reflected form of the wave reaches the observer in more or less than 0.1 seconds.
Sabine’s Formula

Sabine deduced the formula for reverberation time which is called Sabine's formula.

Sabine’s formula is given by the following:

RT60 is the reverberation time (to drop 60 dB)


V is the volume of the room
c20 is the speed of sound at 20°C (room temperature)
Sa is the total absorption in sabins

References:

1. https://byjus.com/physics/loudness-of-sound/

2. https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics/sound/characteristics-of-sound/

3. https://www.vedantu.com/question-answer/differentiate-between-echo-and-reverberation/

4. https://blog.thermaxxjackets.com/sabines-formula-the-birth-of-modern-architectural-acoustics

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