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Chapter 16
Sound and Hearing

16.1 Sound Waves

Sounds are longitudinal waves produced by the vibrations
of material objects. Your voice results from the vibrations
of your vocal cords.

The frequency of the sound waves equals the frequency of
the vibrating source.

The audible range of frequencies (for a loud tone of
intensity level 80 dB) by a human of good hearing is from
about 20 Hz to about 20,000 Hz.

(ii) infrasonic waves: Hz f 20 ! (earthquakes, thunder)
(iii) ultrasonic waves: Hz f 000 , 20 !

Acoustics is the branch of physics that deals with the
study of sound.

We can describe sound waves either as
(i) changes in the local pressure in the medium or as
(ii) displacements of the air molecules from their
equilibrium positions.
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As the source of sound vibrates, it produces a periodic
series of compressions and rarefactions in the medium
surrounding it. Compressions are regions of high density
and pressure (higher than average), while rarefactions are
regions of low density and pressure (lower than average).
Ears and microphones detect sound by sensing pressure
differences, not displacements, so it is useful to describe
sound in terms of pressure fluctuations.










Let p(x,t) be an instantaneous pressure fluctuation in a
sound wave at any point x at time t. That is, p(x,t) is the
amount by which pressure differs from normal
atmospheric pressure P
o
, so p(x,t) is a gauge pressure.

One may write the pressure fluctuation p(x,t) in a medium
(solid, liquid, or gas) in a sound wave propagating in the
positive x-direction as

!
p(x, t) = Bk A sin(kx "#t)

3
where
B = Bulk modulus of the medium
A = displacement amplitude of particle in the medium

Note that we can write the maximum pressure fluctuation,
also called the pressure amplitude as

!
P
max
= Bk A

so that,
!
p(x,t) = P
max
sin(kx "#t)

Note that the pressure amplitude is proportional to the
displacement amplitude A, and it also depends on
wavelength through the wave number k. The greater the
wavelength of the sound wave, then the smaller the
pressure amplitude for the same displacement amplitude.











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16.2 Speed of Sound Waves
As a sound wave travels along a medium, the
compressions and rarefactions travel along the medium.

A. Speed of sound in a fluid:
The speed of sound in a fluid (gas or liquid) is given by

!
v =
B
"


where
B = Bulk modulus of the fluid
! = density of fluid

specifically, the speed of sound in an ideal gas may be
written as

!
v =
" RT
M

where
! = ratio of specific heat capacities. This is a quantity that
characterizes the thermal properties of the gas
R = universal gas constant = 8.314 J mol
-1
K
M = molar mass of the gas
The speed of propagation v of a sound wave in air
depends on wind conditions and air temperature. The
5
speed of sound waves in air at temperature T
c
in Celsius is
given by

!
v " 331+ 0.6 T
c
( ) in meters/second

Note that sound travels faster in warm air than in cold air.
This can lead to the refraction of sound. Sound refraction
refers to the bending in the direction of sound travel when
sound travels through a medium of uneven temperature.














The speed of propagation of a sound wave in air does
NOT depend on loudness or frequency.




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B. Speed of sound in a solid:
The speed of sound in a solid rod is given by

!
v =
Y
"


where
Y = Youngs modulus of the solid
! = density of fluid



An echo is a reflected sound wave.

Sound energy dissipates into thermal energy as the sound
travels in air. The energy of a high frequency sound wave
is transformed more rapidly into thermal energy than the
energy of a low frequency sound wave. Thus, sound
waves of low frequency travel farther (not faster) through
air than sound of high frequencies. This is the reason why
the foghorns of ships emit low frequency sounds!

Remember that a wave is any disturbance from an
equilibrium condition, which travels or propagates with
time from one region of space to another.



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16.3 Sound Intensity: Decibels

An essential aspect of wave propagation is energy
transfer. The intensity I of a traveling wave is defined as
the average rate at which energy is transported by the
wave, per unit area, across a surface perpendicular to the
direction of wave propagation. That is, the intensity is the
average power transported per unit area.

At the threshold of hearing, the human ear can detect
sounds with an intensity of as low as 10
-12
W/m
2
. At the
threshold of pain, the intensity of sound is 1 W/m
2
.
Because of the wide range of sound intensities over which
the human ear is sensitive, a logarithmic intensity scale
rather than a linear intensity scale is convenient. The
intensity level " of a sound wave of intensity I is defined
as
!
" =10 log
I
I
o
#
$
%
&
'
(

where I
o
is an arbitrary reference intensity, takes as
I
o
= 10
-12
W/m
2
, corresponding to the intensity of the
faintest sound which can be heard. Intensity level is
measured in units of decibels (abbreviated dB).



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If the intensity level of a sound wave is I
o
, or 10
-12
W/m
2
,
its intensity level is 0 dB. The maximum intensity which
the ear can tolerate is 1 W/m
2
, which corresponds to an
intensity level of 120 dB.















We can express the intensity I of the sound wave in terms
of the pressure amplitude P
max
of the sound wave by

!
I =
P
max
( )
2
2 "v






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16.4 Standing Sound Waves and Normal Modes

A. String Instruments
As discussed in the previous chapter, the frequencies of
the normal modes of vibrations may be calculated using

!
"
#
$
%
&
=
L
v
n f
n
2
( ) ,... 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 = n

Because

=
Tension
v , one can express the natural
frequencies of vibration of a stretched string as

!
f
n
=
n
2L
Tension

( ) ,... 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 = n

The lowest allowed natural frequency of vibration is
called the fundamental frequency. Any integer multiple of
the fundamental frequency is called a harmonic. Thus,

!
1
f fundamental frequency

= !
tension
L
f
2
1
1


! =
1 2
2 f f second harmonic

! =
1 3
3 f f third harmonic, and so on.
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All the even and odd harmonics are present.












B. Open Pipe (pipe open at both ends)




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! same results as stretched string clamped at both ends:

!
"
#
$
%
&
=
L
v
n f
n
2
( ) ,... 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 = n

where now v is the speed of sound in the air column.

C. Stopped Pipe (column of air in a pipe open at one
end, closed at the other end)















In general,
!
L = " n
#
4
where ( " n =1, 3, 5, 7,...) so that

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!
" =
4 L
# n


and the normal mode frequencies
!
f =
v
"
are thus


!
f
n
= " n
v
4 L
#
$
%
&
'
(

!
" n =1, 3, 5,...
( )


!
1
f fundamental frequency
L
v
f
4
1
= !

! =
1 3
3 f f third harmonic

! =
1 5
5 f f fifth harmonic, and so on.

Only the odd harmonics are present.

16.7 Beats

Beats are variations in loudness. They occur whenever
two waves of slightly different frequencies interfere.

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The number of beats heard per second =
1 2
f f ! , that is,
the difference between the frequencies of the two
interfering waves.


16.8 The Doppler Effect for Sound

Christian Doppler (1803 1853)

The positive reference direction is always taken from the
listener to the source!

Let,
v = speed of sound in air = 343 m/s at room temperature
(always positive).
v
s
! speed of the source
v
L
! speed of the listener (observer)
!
f
s
" frequency of the sound emitted by the source
!
f
L
" frequency of the sound heard by the listener.

The master equation for the Doppler effect for sound is

!
f
L
v v
L
=
f
s
v v
s



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When you solve a problem having to do with the Doppler
effect, there would be only four possibilities. These are:

(a) source and listener traveling toward each other in
opposite directions

!
f
L
v + v
L
=
f
s
v " v
s


(b) source and listener traveling away from each other in
opposite directions

!
f
L
v " v
L
=
f
s
v + v
s


(c) source and listener traveling in the same direction
with the listener following the source

!
f
L
v + v
L
=
f
s
v + v
s


(d) source and listener traveling in the same direction
with the source following the listener

!
f
L
v " v
L
=
f
s
v " v
s


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Doppler Effect for Electromagnetic Waves

In the frame of reference in which the receiver (listener or
observer) is at rest, the source of EM waves (light) is
moving relative to the receiver with speed v.

f
S
= frequency of the EM waves emitted by the source
f
R
= frequency of the EM waves measured or received by
the receiver
c = speed of the EM waves (light)
v = speed of the source relative to the receiver

There are two possibilities:

(a) Source approaching the receiver: here f
R
> f
S

(Blue Shift)

!
f
R
= f
S
c + v
c " v


(b) Source receding away from the receiver: here f
R
< f
S

(Red Shift)

!
f
R
= f
S
c " v
c + v


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We show in problem 16.78 that when v << c, one can
write the Doppler effect formula as

!
f
R
" f
S
1
v
c
#
$
%
&
'
(

where we use the positive sign when we have a blue shift
(approaching), and the negative sign when we have a red
shift (moving away).