They both originate from a definite source, and can be distributed or scattered using various means. Unlike light, sound waves can only travel through a medium, such as air, glass, or metal.
Still a little confused? Resonance Air Column with Speaker. Wireless Sound Sensor. Follow Us. Contact Us. Back to Top. My Account Sign In. My Favorites. My Cart. Modular Circuits, Projectiles, Photogates, and more.
In sound, the disturbance is a vibrating object. And the medium can be any series of interconnected and interactive particles.
This means that sound can travel through gases, liquids and solids. Let's take a look at an example. Imagine a church bell. When a bell rings, it vibrates, which means the bell itself flexes inward and outward very rapidly.
As the bell moves outward, it pushes against particles of air. Those air particles then push against other adjacent air particles, and so on. As the bell flexes inward, it pulls against the adjacent air particles, and they, in turn, pull against other air particles. This push and pull pattern is a sound wave. The vibrating bell is the original disturbance, and the air particles are the medium.
Sound isn't restricted to moving through the air. Press your ear against a solid surface like a table and close your eyes. Tell someone else to tap his or her finger on the other end of the table.
The tapping becomes the initial disturbance. If we look at the electrical current using an oscilloscope, we can see the sound as a series of peaks and troughs. The sound from single pitch or note will make a simple sine wave on the screen.
The wave will change as you change the volume or pitch of the note. Find out more about studying sound under water and read about what is needed for sound to be heard , and how sound travels through water to understand some of the key science concepts. Investigating waves and energy uses slinkies to explore longitudinal and transverse waves. Make and use a hydrophone explains how to construct an underwater microphone. Add to collection. Related content This article is part of an article series : Sound — understanding standing waves Sound — resonance Sound — wave interference Sound — beats, the Doppler effect and sonic booms with the accompanying investigations: Measuring the speed of sound Investigating sound wave resonance Additional articles and activity ideas Find out more about studying sound under water and read about what is needed for sound to be heard , and how sound travels through water to understand some of the key science concepts.
Visit the sound topic for additional resources. Go to full glossary Add 0 items to collection.
0コメント