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2 The Nature Of Sound

Electronic vocal communication devices such as the telephone require the mutual conversation of sound and electricity. Before we consider the conversation, let us first study sound. We live in a world of sound. Any where we go and whatever we do, we hear sound. Some of these are familiar to us, a friends voice; the chirping of birds, the ticking of the clock, the barking of dogs, the beating of your heart, certain sound like mmusic are pleasant to the ears; others are not. We call the latter noise. Different sounds have different effects. For instance, music crashing sound of explosives can make us feel nervous. Sounds is restricted to the frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 to which the human ear is sensitive. Waves with frequencies below this audible range are called Infrasounds and those above are reffered to us Ultrasounds. Sound wave are longitudinal waves. They are produced by a series of vibrations parallel to the direction of travel of the waves. When you pluck the strings of a guitar, the strings look hazy as they vibrate. Touch your throat while talking and you will feel the vibrations of your vocal cords. When you ring a bell, you pull the string and move it back and forth to produce sound. In each of these examples, the source of sound is a vibrating object.

Propagation Of Sound Waves

Like water waves, sound waves need a medium to spread in. Sound waves can travel in air, water, and solids. They can even travel through narrow openings and around corners, but not in an empty space or vacuum.

The Speed Of Sound In Different Media

Just like light, the speed of sound can be calculated using the basic wave equation.

Receiving Sound Waves

Your ear defects sound waves. How does it receive sound? The outer ear collects sound waves which pass through the ear canal. As they reach the eardrum at the end of the canal, the eardrum vibrates. The vibration was move on to the three bones of the middle ear connected to the eardrum, collectively known as Ossicles, and then to the liquid of the coil-shaped Cochlea of the inner ear. Hair cells of the Organ of Corti in the cochlea then vibrate. The nerves at the hair cells pass on the message to the hearing center of the brain. The brains sound memory center stores, messages, as it has been doing since birth, and identifies the sounds received.

Some people do not use their ears, to defect sounds. They use other parts of their bodies. A famous inventor who had difficulty hearing would listen to phonograph records by resting his head against the phonograph player. By so doing he could hear the sounds as vibrations traveled to the bones of his head. Other who have partially impaired hearing are able to play the violen well by resting their chin on the instrument. The vibrations are transmitted through the jawbone.