Lecture 7
Sound Waves
Introduction to Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal waves
They travel through any material
medium
The speed of the wave depends on the
properties of the medium
The mathematical description of
sinusoidal sound waves is very similar
to sinusoidal waves on a string
Categories of Sound Waves
The categories cover different frequency
ranges
Audible waves are within the sensitivity of
the human ear
Range is approximately 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Infrasonic waves have frequencies below
the audible range
Ultrasonic waves have frequencies above
the audible range
Speed of Sound Waves
Speed of Sound Waves, cont
When the piston comes to
rest, the compression
region of the gas
continues to move
This corresponds to a
longitudinal pulse traveling
through the tube with
speed v
The speed of the piston is
not the same as the speed
of the wave
Periodic Sound Waves
A sound wave may
be considered either
a displacement wave
or a pressure wave
The pressure wave
is 90o out of phase
with the
displacement wave
The pressure is a
maximum when the
displacement is zero, etc.
Speed of Sound Waves, General
The speed of sound waves in a medium
depends on the compressibility and the
density of the medium
The compressibility can sometimes be
expressed in terms of the elastic modulus
of the material
The speed of all mechanical waves follows
a general form: elastic property
v
inertial property
Speed of Sound in Liquid or Gas
The bulk modulus of the material is B
The density of the material is r
The speed of sound in that medium is
B
v
r
Speed of Sound in a Solid Rod
The Young’s modulus of the material is Y
The density of the material is r
The speed of sound in the rod is
Y
v
r
Speed of Sound in Air
The speed of sound also depends on the
temperature of the medium
This is particularly important with gases
For air, the relationship between the speed
and temperature is
TC
v (331 m/s) 1
273 C
The 331 m/s is the speed at 0o C
TC is the air temperature in Celsius
Periodic Sound Waves
A sound wave may
be considered either
a displacement wave
or a pressure wave
The pressure wave
is 90o out of phase
with the
displacement wave
The pressure is a
maximum when the
displacement is zero, etc.
Periodic Sound Waves, cont
As the regions travel through the tube, any small
element of the medium moves with simple
harmonic motion parallel to the direction of the
wave
The harmonic position function is
s (x, t) = smax cos (kx – wt)
smax is the maximum position from the equilibrium
position
This is also called the displacement amplitude of
the wave
Periodic Sound Waves,
Pressure
The variation in gas pressure, DP, is
also periodic
DP = DPmax sin (kx – wt)
DPmax is the pressure amplitude
It is also given by DPmax = rvwsmax
k is the wave number (in both
equations)
w is the angular frequency (in both
equations)
Intensity of a Periodic Sound
Wave
The intensity I of a wave is defined as
the power per unit area
This is the rate at which the energy being
transported by the wave transfers through
a unit area, A, perpendicular to the
direction of the wave
I
A
Intensity of a Point Source
A point source will emit sound waves
equally in all directions
This results in a spherical wave
Identify an imaginary sphere of radius r
centered on the source
The power will be distributed equally
through the area of the sphere
Problem
A point source emits sound waves with an average
power output of 80 W.
Find the intensity at 3.0 m away from the source.
Find the distance at which the intensity of the sound
is 1.0 x 10-8 W/m2
Solution
Sound Level
The range of intensities detectible by the
human ear is very large
It is convenient to use a logarithmic scale
to determine the Sound level, b
I
b 10log
Io
Sound Level, cont
I0 is called the reference intensity
It is taken to be the threshold of hearing
I0 = 1.00 x 10-12 W/ m2
I is the intensity of the sound whose level is to be
determined
b is in decibels (dB)
Threshold of pain: I = 1.00 W/m2; b = 120 dB
Threshold of hearing: I0 = 1.00 x 10-12 W/ m2 ; b = 0
dB
Problem
What is the sound level that
corresponds to an intensity of
2.0 x 10-7 W/m2 ?
b = 10 log (2.0 x 10-7 W/m2 / 1.0 x
10-12 W/m2) = 10 log 2.0 x 105 = 53 dB
Sound Levels
The Doppler Effect
The Doppler effect is the apparent
change in frequency (or wavelength)
that occurs because of motion of the
source or observer of a wave
When the relative speed of the source and
observer is higher than the speed of the
wave, the frequency appears to increase
When the relative speed of the source and
observer is lower than the speed of the
wave, the frequency appears to decrease
The Doppler Effect
Doppler Effect, Observer Moving
The observer moves with
a speed of vo
Assume a point source
that remains stationary
relative to the air
It is convenient to
represent the waves with
a series of circular arcs
concentric to the source
These surfaces are called a
wave front
Doppler Effect, Observer
Moving, cont
The distance between adjacent wave
fronts is the wavelength
The speed of the sound is v, the
frequency is ƒ, and the wavelength is l
When the observer moves toward the
source, the speed of the waves relative
to the observer is v ’ = v + vo
The wavelength is unchanged
Doppler Effect,
Moving Observer
The frequency heard by the observer, ƒ ’,
appears higher when the observer
approaches the source
v vo
ƒ' ƒ
v
The frequency heard by the observer, ƒ ’,
appears lower when the observer moves
away from the source
v vo
ƒ' ƒ
v
Doppler Effect,
Moving Source
Consider the source
being in motion while
the observer is at rest
As the source moves
toward the observer,
the wavelength
appears shorter
As the source moves
away, the wavelength
appears longer
Doppler Effect,
Moving Source
Doppler Effect, Source
Moving, cont
When the source is moving toward the
observer, the apparent frequency is higher
v
ƒ' ƒ
v vs
When the source is moving away from the
observer, the apparent frequency is lower
v
ƒ' ƒ
v vs
Doppler Effect, General
Combining the motions of the observer and
the source
v vo
ƒ' ƒ
v vs
The signs depend on the direction of the
velocity
A positive value is used for motion of the observer
or the source toward the other
A negative sign is used for motion of one away
from the other
Doppler Effect, Water Example
A point source
is moving to
the right
The wave
fronts are
closer on the
right
The wave
fronts are
farther apart
on the left
Problem
Sub A (source) travels at 8.00 m/s
emitting at a frequency of 1400 Hz, the
speed of sound is 1533 m/s
Sub B (observer) travels at 9.00 m/s
What is the apparent frequency heard by
the observer as the subs approach each
other? Then as they recede from each
other?
Doppler Effect, Submarine
Example cont
Approaching each other:
v vo 1533 m s 9.00 m s
ƒ' ƒ (1400 Hz )
v vs 1533 m s 8.00 m s
1416 Hz
Receding from each other:
v vo 1533 m s 9.00 m s
ƒ' ƒ (1400 Hz )
v vs 1533 m s 8.00 m s
1385 Hz
Shock Wave
The speed of the
source can exceed
the speed of the
wave
The envelope of
these wave fronts is
a cone whose apex
half-angle is given
by sin q v/vS
This is called the
Mach angle
Shock Wave, final
The conical wave front
produced when vs > v is
known as a shock wave
This is supersonic
The shock wave carries a
great deal of energy
concentrated on the
surface of the cone
There are correspondingly
great pressure variations
Elasticity
So far we have assumed that objects
remain rigid when external forces act
on them
Except springs
Actually, objects are deformable
It is possible to change the size and/or
shape of the object by applying external
forces
Internal forces resist the deformation
Definitions Associated With
Deformation
Stress
Is proportional to the force causing the
deformation
It is the external force acting on the object
per unit area
Strain
Is the result of a stress
Is a measure of the degree of deformation
Elastic Modulus, cont
The elastic modulus in general relates
what is done to a solid object to how
that object responds
stress
elastic mod ulus
strain
Various types of deformation have
unique elastic moduli
Three Types of Moduli
Young’s Modulus
Measures the resistance of a solid to a
change in its length
Bulk Modulus
Measures the resistance of solids or liquids
to changes in their volume
Shear Modulus
Measures the resistance to motion of the
planes within a solid parallel to each other
Young’s Modulus
The bar is stretched
by an amount DL
under the action of
the force F
The tensile stress is
the ratio of the
external force to the
cross-sectional area A
Young’s Modulus, cont
The tension strain is the ratio of the
change in length to the original length
Young’s modulus, Y, is the ratio of
those two ratios:
tensile stress F
Y A
tensile strain DL
Li
Units are N / m2
Bulk Modulus
Another type of
deformation occurs
when a force of uniform
magnitude is applied
perpendicularly over the
entire surface of the
object
The object will undergo
a change in volume, but
not in shape
Bulk Modulus, final
The bulk modulus is the ratio of the
volume stress to the volume strain
DF
B
volume stress
A DP
volume strain DV DV
Vi Vi
The negative indicates that an increase
in pressure will result in a decrease in
volume
