UNIT 3:

PROPERTIES OF SOUND
The word sound has two definitions:
1. Physically speaking, it is a
fluctuation in pressure, a particle
displacement in an elastic medium, like
air. This is „objective‟ sound.
2. Physiologically, it is an auditory
sensation evoked by physical
fluctuation described above. This is
„subjective‟ sound.
3.1 Origin, Propagation and
Speed of sound:
In our study, sound expresses an
auditory sensation passing through
the ear, which is created by
fluctuations in air pressure, that are
usually set up by some vibrating
object, for example, the plucked
string of a guitar or a struck tuning
fork.
Sound wave motion is created by
outward travelling layers of
compression and rarefaction of the
air particles, similar to spread of
water waves when a stone is
dropped in. The pressure
fluctuations are superimposed on
the more or less steady
atmospheric pressure and are
picked up by the ear.
A bell radiates pure tone in all directions creating
a circular wave front, traveling longitudinally.

Figure - 2
For airborne sound, medium is air and
for structure borne sound it can be
concrete, steel, wood, glass and their
combinations. Speed of sound wave
motion in air at 20 0C room
temperature is about 344 m. per
second, which is very slow compared
to light which is 297,600,000 m/s.
Velocity of sound depends on the
medium. Velocities in other media
are given in table below. For our
purpose, we will disregard change
in velocity due to temperature and
atmospheric pressure. Velocity of
350 m/s may be used as velocity in
air.
Medium Velocity in m/s
Air 344
Water 1410
Wood 3300
Brick 3600
Concrete 3700
Steel 4900
Glass 5000
Aluminum 5800
3.2 Frequency, Pitch, Timbre
and Wavelength:
Frequency: The number of
displacements or oscillations that a
particle undergoes in 1 second is
called „Frequency‟. Each complete
displacement is called a „Cycle‟. The
unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz),
which is numerically equal to the
cycles per second (cps).
If there are 1000 such cycles in one
second, the frequency of sound is
1000 cps or 1000 Hz. Frequency is an
objective physical phenomenon which
can be measured by acoustical
instruments.
A normal ear responds to sounds
within the audio-frequency range of
about 20 to 20,000 Hz. This range
varies measurably with different
people and ages, the upper limit
decreasing considerably with
advancing age. Frequencies higher
than 10,000 Hz are of negligible
importance for the intelligibility of
speech or the enjoyment of music.
Most sounds contain a multitude of
frequencies; low, medium and high
frequency components. It is
essential, therefore, that acoustical
problems be examined throughout
the audible spectrum.
The standard frequencies, selected
arbitrarily, as representative in
environmental acoustics are:

125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz

Or
128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048 and 4096 Hz
The frequencies stand in the scale at
2:1 ratio to each other. Borrowing
again from musical terminology, they
are one “Octave” apart. 16, 32, 63,
125, 250 are centre frequencies of
octave bands, thus 250 is centre
frequency of an octave band ranging
from 250 / √2 to 250 √2 and this
particular octave is known as the 250
Hz octave.
In the design of spaces which are
acoustically particularly sensitive,
such as concert halls or radio or
recording studios, attention is also
given to the frequency one octave
below (63 or 64 Hz) and one octave
above (8000 or 8192 Hz) the range
of standard frequencies.
Pitch: The attribute of an auditory
sensation which enables us to order
sounds on a scale extending from
low to high frequency is called
„Pitch‟. It is the subjective
physiological equivalent of
frequency. The pitch depends
primarily upon the frequency of the
sound stimulus: the higher the
frequency, the higher the pitch will
be.
Tone: The sound sensation having a
pitch is called „Tone‟. Pure tone (or
simple tone) is a sound sensation of a
single frequency, characterized by its
singleness of pitch. It can be produced
by striking a tuning fork or playing a
low note softly on a flute. Except for
sound generated by tuning fork, very
few sounds are truly pure.
Complex Tone: Most musical
sounds do not produce pure tones
only, but sounds containing several
additional frequencies, they are
called the „complex Tones‟. These
are sound sensations characterized
by more than one frequency.
Critical frequency range for speech
communication is 300 to 4000 Hz.
The overtones outside these
frequencies give the voice its
characteristic sound and specific
identity.
Fundamentals, Partials and
Overtones: The lowest frequency
present in a complex tone is called
the „Fundamental‟; the components
of higher frequencies are called
„Partials‟ or „Overtones‟, which add
distinctive qualities to the tone.
Harmonics: If the frequencies of
the partials are simple integral
multiples of the fundamental, they
are called „Harmonics‟.
Timbre: It is the relative number,
prominence, pitch and intensity of
overtones which contribute to the
tone colour or „Timber‟ of the
musical sounds. A pure tone without
overtones sounds empty and
uninteresting. Instruments, that
produce sounds with many
overtones, sound full and rich.
Timbre is an attribute of auditory
sensation in terms of which a person
can distinguish between sounds that
have the same pitch and loudness
but are played on different musical
instruments.
Most common sounds are complex combination of frequencies
Wavelength: The wavelength of
sound is defined as the distance
sound travels in one complete cycle.
Relationship between wavelength,
frequency and velocity of sound is
expressed as
λ = c / f,
Where, λ is wavelength in m, c is
velocity of sound in m/s and f is
frequency (cycles / sec) in Hz.
Low frequency sounds have long
wave lengths and high frequency
sounds have short wavelengths.
The wave length of sounds within
the audio-frequency range of 20 t0
20,000 Hz extends from 25 mm to
17 m.
The waves with frequency below the
audible range are called „infrasonic‟ and
the waves with frequency above the
audible range are called „ultrasonic‟.
The consideration of the relationship
between frequencies and wavelengths is
important.
Example: A wave of wavelength 6
mm is produced in air and it travels
at a speed of 300 m / s. Will it be
audible?
Solution: from the relation λ = c / f, we
have f = c / λ = 300 m/s / 0.006
= 50, 000 Hz.
This is much above the audible range.
It is an ultrasonic wave and will not be
audible.
Refer nomograph below to determine wavelengths in m.
3.3 Sound Magnitude:
When we speak of sound
magnitude, we think of loudness,
which is subjective, ear oriented
reaction, not linearly related to
sound power (Watts).
The phenomenon is complex due to
different terms used. The strength of
sound is described variously as
sound power, sound pressure, sound
pressure level (SPL) and sound
intensity level (IL). All of them differ
from each other and from subjective
loudness.
3.4 Sound Intensity:
Free Field Propagation:
A point source of constant power P (Watts) radiating in
free space is represented in the figure bellow:
This is a form of classic “Inverse
square law”, stating that intensity is
inversely proportional to the square
of the distance from the source.
Doubling the distance will reduce
intensity to 1/4th of the original
source and tripling it will reduce it to
1/9th of the original.
A point source i.e. a source, that is
small relative to the wavelength
produced, produces spherical
waves. Line sources such as
strings produce cylindrical waves.
Large vibrating surfaces such as
walls produce plane waves.
3.5 Sound Pressure:
The fluctuation in the atmospheric
pressure caused by vibrations of
air particles due to a sound wave
is called „Sound Pressure‟. The
ear responds to a very wide
range of sound pressures, yet the
pressures themselves are small.
The threshold of hearing i.e. the
minimum sound intensity (I) that a
normal ear can detect is 10-16 W/
cm2. The threshold of pain has the
sound intensity of 10-3 W per cm2.
This gives a range of 1013 or 10
million to 1.
3.6 Loudness:
The problem here is that the
numbers themselves are very small
and the ratios are very large.
Furthermore, human ear responds
logarithmically, not arithmetically to
sound pressure (and intensity), i.e.
doubling the intensity of sound does
not double its loudness. The change
is barely perceptible.
3.7 The ‘decibel’ Scale:
For these reasons sound pressures
are measured on a logarithmic scale,
called the „decibel‟ scale, named in
honour of Alexander Graham Bell. This
scale fits approximately the human
perception of change of loudness of
sound, which is roughly proportional to
the logarithm of sound energy.
 Intensity (W/cm2) Intensity
Level

Decimal Exponential Logarithmic Examples

Notation Notation Notation
0.001 10 -3 130 dB Painful
0.0001 10 -4 120 dB
0.00001 10 -5 110 dB Sonic boom
0.000001 10 -6 100 dB
0.0000001 10 -7 90 dB Loud street noise
0.000000001 10 -9 70 dB Noisy office
0.00000000001 10 -11 50 dB Average office
0.0000000000001 10 -13 30 dB Quiet home
0.00000000000001 10 -14 20 dB Rustle of leaves
0.000000000000001 10 -15 10 dB Whisper
0.0000000000000001 10 -16 0 dB Threshold
This implies that sound energies
proportional to 10, 100, and 1,000
would produce in the ear effects
subjectively proportional to their
logarithms, i. e. 1, 2, and 3,
respectively.
If we multiply the numbers of this
logarithmic scale by 10, we have
established a „decibel‟ scale. The
unit of this scale, the decibel, is the
smallest change in sound pressure
that the average ear can detect.
The table below gives a short listing
of subjective loudness changes
expressed in decibels. Note that 10
dB indicates doubling of loudness
and 20 dB difference is loudness
doubled twice. (6dB is the change
encountered when distance to the
source is doubled)
Subjective Loudness Changes and Corresponding
Intensity Level Changes:

Change in Level (dB) Subjective Change in

Loudness
3 Barely Perceptible
6a Perceptible
7 Clearly Perceptible
10 Twice or Half as Loud
20 Four Times or ¼ as Loud

“a” 6 decibel corresponds to the change encountered when distance to the

source in a free field is doubled (or halved)
3.8 Sound Intensity Level (IL)
and the ‘decibel’:
The word “Level” indicates a
quantity relative to a base quantity.
Intensity level is a ratio between a
given intensity and a base intensity.
The quantity IL is dimensionless as
it is simply a ratio.
The difference (Δ) between two
intensity levels can be expressed as
ΔIL = IL2 – IL1
= 10 log I2 / I0 – 10 log I1 / I0,

Therefore, ΔIL = 10 log I2 / I1 dB

Using above formula, following example can
be solved.
1. If two sound sources produce ILs of 60 and
50 dB, total intensity level is 60.4 dB.
2. If there are two noise sources of 60 dB
each, the combined strength in decibel is
63 dB
3. If a factory contains 20 identical machines,
each generating a noise level of 80 dB,
their combined noise level would be 93 dB.
A chart shown below can eliminate the lengthy procedures
Involved in the above calculations:

3.0
Add to larger level to obtain total
2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Difference between two sound levels in dB
For every day calculations, the following
rules of thumb may be used to combine
dB levels of two sources.
1. When difference between two sources
is 1dB or less, add 3dB to the higher
level to obtain the total.
2. If the difference is 2 to 3 dB, add 2dB.
3. If the difference 4 to 8dB, add 1dB.
4. If the difference is 9dB or more, ignore
the lower source.
The ear responds to sound
pressure, not intensity. Sound
pressure level (SPL) is equal
numerically to intensity level (IL).
Therefore, the examples and
manipulations of intensity level are
equally applicable to sound
pressure level.
To summarize, intensity level
changes 3dB with every doubling
or halving of power and changes
6dB with every doubling or
halving of distance.
3.9 Acoustical Power of Sound Sources:
The average acoustical power
generated by all sound sources is
surprisingly small. The acoustical
power a speaker has to produce in a
room to make himself adequately
heard varies from 10 to 50 microwatt
(μW) and consequently the resulting
sound pressure is very small.
The simultaneous loud speech of
4 million people would produce
the power necessary to burn a
single 40 W bulb.
3.10 Masking of Sound:
Although a subdued voice is
understandable in a quiet room, it is
difficult to understand even a raised
voice above the roar of an aircraft
engine. This drowning out, or
„masking‟, occurs because the
auditory nerves are unable to carry
all the impulses to the brain at one
time.
In this process the threshold of
audibility for one sound, e.g. speech
in auditorium, is raised due to the
presence of another masking sound
e.g. street noise. Low frequency
sounds produce a considerable
masking effect upon high frequency
sounds, particularly if low frequency
sounds are significantly loud.
Excessive low frequency noises
therefore constitute a serious source
of interference for speech and
music, since they mask the wanted
sounds of the entire audio-frequency
range. Their elimination is an
important goal in the acoustical
design of an auditorium.
This phenomenon is properly
exploited in environmental noise
control. If a masking noise is
uninterrupted and is not too loud
and if it has no information content,
it will become an acceptable
„background noise‟ and will
suppress other noises.
Ventilating and air conditioning
noises, noise created by
uninterrupted traffic flow of a
highway or sound of a water
fountain are good masking noise
sources.
3.11 Directionanility
of Sound Sources :
Although sound sources radiate
sound in all directions, in a region
free from reflecting surfaces, the
intensity of emitted sound may be
more pronounced in one direction.
The radiation pattern will vary with
the frequency of emitted sound
waves.
The phenomenon is noticeable
with human voice, musical
instruments, loudspeakers and
also with many noise sources. The
directionality of human voice in
horizontal plane is shown below:
The radiation of high frequency
speech sounds is more pronounced
along the horizontal axis of the
sound source, while the distribution
of medium and low frequencies is
more uniform in all directions.
This can be observed in excessively
wide auditoriums where the high
frequency components of speech are
not efficiently radiated to the side
seats of the front rows as to the
centre seats, resulting in a noticeable
loss of intelligibility in these side
seats.
Here, the use of some reflective
walls and ceiling surfaces is
important to compensate for the loss
of high frequency components.
Experience shows that in the
radiation pattern of human voice,
the frequency discrimination is
negligible over a total angle of 900
in the forward direction and the
effect diminishes after the angle
of 1400.
3.12 The Human Ear and Hearing:
When alternating pressures of a
sound wave reach the outer ear,
the vibrations received by the ear
drum are multiplied by the small
bones in the middle ear and
transmitted through a fluid to
nerve endings within the inner
ear.
The nerves finally transmit the
impulses to the brain where the final
process of hearing takes place, thus
the sensation of sound is created.
The minimum sound pressure level
of a sound that is capable of evoking
an auditory sensation in the ears of
listener is called the „Threshold of
Audibility‟.
When the sound pressure level is
increased and the sound becomes
louder, the hearing becomes
uncomfortable. The minimum sound
pressure level of a sound which
stimulates the ear to the point at
which discomfort gives way to
definite pain is called the „Threshold
of Pain‟.
Between audibility and pain, pressure is
increased 1 million times, which shows
the extremely wide range of sound
pressure to which the ear responds.
It is noticeable that the ear‟s
sensitivity varies remarkably with
sounds of different frequencies. The
curves of the threshold of audibility
and the threshold of pain enclose
the auditory sensation area as
shown in the figure below:
To a certain degree we are deaf
to low frequency sounds. It is
fortunate that this reduces the
possibility of being annoyed by
low frequency sounds within and
around us.
At the threshold of hearing (0dB) the
displacement of air molecules impinging
on the ear drum and the ear drum
excursion are approximately one
Angstrom, that is 1A = 10 - 8 cm, which
is approximately the diameter of an
atom. Were the ear an order of
magnitude more sensitive, it would hear
Thermal Noise.
At the other end of noise spectrum,
the threshold of pain corresponds
to a sound level of 130 dB and to
an ear drum motion of 0.25 mm
approximately, an astonishing
range indeed.
On the other hand, it is advantageous
that the ear is more sensitive to sounds
in the frequency range between 3000
and 5000 Hz, which is essential for
speech intelligibility and for the full
enjoyment of music.
END OF UNIT 3