Lecture 04

02/02/04

REVIEW - Speed of Sound Waves In Air

Speed of sound depends on various factors
In an IDEAL GAS

v=

( R T /M)

T = temperature in degrees Kelvin (T(K) = t(C) + 273K)

M = molecular weight of the gas (2.88 x 10-2 for air)
R = universal gas constant = 8.31
= 1.4 for air ( has different values for different gases)

So for air,

v = 20.1 T

At 21C, T = (21 + 273) K = 294 K, so v = 344 m/s

Note that v does not depend on pressure, only on temperature
Lecture 04

Speed of Sound In Liquids and Solids

Sound waves travel much faster in liquids and solids
than in gases
In a solid

v = (E /)

where E is the Youngs modulus (a measure of how stiff the

material is) and is the density

Examples:
Water at 0C
Aluminum
Glass

v = 1,410 m/s
v = 5,150 m/s
v = 3,750 5,000 m/s

Lecture 04

PROPERTIES OF WAVES
The Doppler effect
Reflection
Refraction
Diffraction
Interference
(For musical sound, reflection, refraction and
interference are the most important.)

Lecture 04

THE DOPPLER EFFECT

When the source of waves is moving towards you, or if you are
moving towards the source of the waves, the apparent frequency of
the waves increases:
sound is heard at a higher pitch, light waves are blue-shifted.
When the source of waves is moving away from you, or if you are
moving away from the source of the waves. the apparent frequency
of the waves decreases:
sound is heard at a lower pitch, light waves are red-shifted.
eg) fire truck going past you, red-shift of distant galaxies
Video racecars

Lecture 04

Understanding the Doppler effect:

(a)MOVING DETECTOR
When you move towards the source, you run to meet the waves more
waves pass you per second than are made per second at the source.
From your point of view, their frequency has increased.

Lecture 04

(b) MOVING SOURCE

When the source moves toward you, it catches up on the waves it has
already made, decreasing the distance between successive peaks (the
wavelength).
Recall:
Velocity = frequency x wavelength
The velocity of the waves (with respect to the medium they travel through)
is not changed by the motion of the source
So if the wavelength is decreased, the frequency must increase.
VIDEO ripple tank 14:40

(NOTE: these
descriptions of the
Doppler shift are
not correct for e/m
waves)
Lecture 04

Is the Doppler effect important in musical

sound?
Generally, no, because the sources and listeners are
not moving fast enough to get much of a frequency
change.
DEMO with tone (from metronome)

Lecture 04

Lecture 04

REFLECTION
Waves will reflect off a barrier, e.g:
Light waves
mirror
Sound waves echoes, whispering galleries
VIDEO ripple tank 0:05, 1:38

REFRACTION
Waves change direction if the density of the medium they are traveling in
changes
Light waves
air/glass boundaries, lenses
Sound waves
regions of different air temperature
Why? When density of medium increases (or temperature of air), waves
slow down. Their frequency does not change, so their wavelength must
decrease. (Remember v = f )

Sound carries over water.

Dont shout into the wind!

VIDEO ripple tank 5:57

Lecture 04

DIFFRACTION
Waves will bend around an obstacle.
The amount of bending is large if the size of the obstacle is similar
to the wavelength of the waves.

Diffraction also occurs when waves are generated from a source,

eg loudspeaker, sound box of an instrument.
Lecture 04

10

DIFFRACTION
The amount of bending depends on how large the opening (or
sound source) is compared to the wavelength of the waves.

VIDEO ripple tank 9:15

Lecture 04

11

Lecture 04

12

DIFFRACTION
You get noticeable diffraction of waves when the obstacle (or the
source of the waves) is of comparable size to the wavelength.
What is the typical wavelength of sound waves?

Recall v = f
Suppose f = 440 Hz
(concert A)
Wavelength = v/f = (340 m/s)/(440 Hz) ~ 0.75 m.
Sound waves are of similar size to many
everyday apertures (eg doors, windows), and
a similar size to many sound generators (eg
musical instruments)
So diffraction is very important in musical
sound.
NOTE: Waves also diffract around an edge
(eg over a wall, around a corner.)

INTERFERENCE
For musical sound, the most important interference phenomenon is the
creation of standing waves (see Lecture 3).
A wave traveling along a string (or a sound wave in a pipe) interferes with
its own reflected waves, producing a standing wave.
Here are the transverse standing waves on a string again:

Blue wave

Green wave

You can find this animation at

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/waves/U10L4b.html
Lecture 04

13

INTERFERENCE
Here are the standing sound waves (longitudinal) in a pipe again:

Wave traveling to
right
+
Wave traveling to
left (waves
reflected off end
of pipe)
=
Standing wave

Animation at
http://ceae.colorado.edu/~muehleis/classes/aren4020/handouts/animations/
standingwaves.html
Lecture 04

14

RESONANCE (Rossing Ch 4)
What is resonance?
For things that oscillate, there is a natural frequency they like to oscillate
at. If you drive the oscillations at that frequency, you get a big amplitude
this is called resonance.
DEMO - vibrating bar
Lets think first about free oscillations (as seen in Lecture 2)
We give the oscillator a starting push, and then leave it alone. It will
undergo free oscillations at its natural frequency. The oscillations will
gradually die away (damping).
eg. plucking a guitar string
DEMO - mass on a spring, as in Lecture 2
The natural frequency is

f = (1/2) ( K/m )
Lecture 04

15

Driven oscillations and resonance

If we dont want the oscillations to die away, we need to repeatedly push
the oscillator.
If we apply pushes at a steady frequency, the resulting oscillations will also
be at this driving frequency.
The oscillations will develop the biggest amplitude if we apply the pushes
at the frequency the system likes to oscillate at the natural frequency.
This is resonance.
DEMO mass on a spring

eg. Pumping a swing. You need to make each push at the right time. A
child wont be able get the swing going themselves until they learn to time
their pumping at the natural frequency of the swing.
The optimal frequency to pump at is the natural frequency of oscillation.
This is the same as the frequency of free oscillations.
VIDEO Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Lecture 04

16