What is sound?

(1)
Sound is a wave-like distortion of a physical medium (solid, liquid or gas) There are two types of wave-like distortion, transverse waves (e.g. ripples on a pond) and longitudinal waves (e.g. sound waves).

Basic Acoustics
Robert Mannell Macquarie University

What is Sound? (2)

In a transverse wave the medium moves at right angles to the direction of movement of the wave. This is NOT sound!

What is sound? (3)

In a longitudinal wave the particles (in this case spring coils) move back and forward relative to the wave motion. Waves are peaks and troughs of compression
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What is Sound? (4)

Sound is a longitudinal compression wave which distorts a medium by creating moving fronts of high and low particle compression. Sound can occur in any medium (solid, liquid and gas). Sound cannot occur in a vacuum as there is no medium to compress.
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What is Sound? (5)

Individual particles only move short distances backward and forward in the direction of wave propagation whilst the compression wave front can move considerable distances. Wave cycles consist of regions of high compression separated by regions of low compression (rarefaction) relative to the ambient or resting state.
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What is Sound? (6)

Sound in air consists of consecutive regions of higher and lower air pressure relative to ambient air pressure (ambient pressure is typically 1 atmosphere at sea level). These fluctuations in air pressure are extremely small relative to ambient air pressure (e.g. compared to normal air pressure at sea level).
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A Perceptual Dimension? (1)

A Perceptual Dimension? Does a longitudinal compression wave need to be perceivable in order to be regarded as sound? (For convenience, I will refer to longitudinal compression waves as "acoustic waves" in the following discussion.)
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A Perceptual Dimension? (2)

Its sometimes claimed that perceivability is a prerequisite for regarding an acoustic wave as sound. This doesn't mean that it must actually be heard, merely that it could be heard if an observer was present. In its simple form, this approach would claim that sound is defined by the limits of human hearing, i.e. acoustic waves between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz and between the threshold of hearing and the threshold of pain would be considered sound. This view is actually quite problematic.
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A Perceptual Dimension? (3)

Firstly, are acoustic waves that possess these (human) characteristics but that are being conducted in hostile media (eg. in lava flows, or on other planets) sound, as they are not perceivable by humans. Are sounds outside my range of hearing (ie. for me, above about 15,000 Hz) not sound for me even though they are perceivable by younger ears?
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A Perceptual Dimension? (4)

Can sound be said to exist for the profoundly deaf? What about "sounds" that are not perceivable to humans but that are perceivable to other species (eg. echolocation sounds up to about 100-200 kHz in some bats). Are they sounds? Are they only sounds to bats?
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A Perceptual Dimension? (5)

Perhaps the problem is better approached from another perspective. It seems that the word sound has two meanings. One meaning is simply the physical definition of sound as a longitudinal compression wave. The other definition is that "sound" is the perceptual correlate of longitudinal compression waves.
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A Perceptual Dimension? (6)

In this course I will take the view that sound is any longitudinal compression wave. This would include very high frequency compression waves (including bat echolocation signals) and very low frequency compression waves (including extremely long wavelength compression waves observed on the sun).
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A Perceptual Dimension? (7)

On the other hand, when we are dealing with speech sounds I will generally assume that we are talking about acoustic waves in the range of human hearing being conducted through normal atmospheric air within temperature and pressure ranges acceptable to humans.

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Sound: Units of Measurement (1)

Sound: Units of Measurement (2)

The wavelength () of a wave is the distance between successive wave fronts (i.e. peak-to-peak distance). Wavelength is measured in metres (m). The frequency (f) of a wave is the number of times per second that a complete wave cycle passes an observer. Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz) [or /second (s-1) in basic units]. The period (T) of a wave is the time it takes for one wave cycle to pass an observer. The period is measured in seconds (s) (in speech milliseconds (ms) are often used) The speed or velocity of sound (c) is the number of metres that a wave front can travel in a second. The speed of sound is measured in metres/second (m.s-1)
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This table lists the main physical units of measurement of relevance to acoustics. n.b. m.s-1 is equivalent to m/s kg.s-3 is equivalent to kg/s3 etc.

Period and Frequency

The above formulae describe a simple inverse relationship between the frequency (f) and the period (T) of a waveform. For example, if the period of a single cycle of a wave is 1/10 of a second then the 10 these cycles can occur per second and therefore the frequency is 10 cycles per second or 10 Hertz. Hertz means cycles per second.
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Frequency, Period, Wavelength (1)

In the above formulae c = speed of sound Wavelength (), frequency (f) and period (T) can be calculated from each other IF we know the speed of sound (which varies only slightly in human-friendly environments)
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Frequency, Period, Wavelength (2)

So, for example, we can work out the frequency of a sound if we know its wavelength and we know the speed of sound. We can do similar conversions if we know, for example, the period of a single cycle of a soundwave and speed of sound.

The Speed of Sound (1)

Tau (the curly ) is the absolute temperate of a medium (e.g. air) that sound travels through. Speed of sound increases as temperature increases. Rho () is the density of the gas that the sound travels through. Speed of sound decreases as density of gas increases. Alpha () means is proportional to.
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The Speed of Sound (2)

The effect of changes in temperature on the speed of sound is quite small in the range of temperatures that humans can live in comfortably. As is absolute temperature in degrees Kelvin (K), where 0 C = 273K, changes in temperature tolerable to humans only represent a fairly small proportional change and so speed of sound changes only slightly across comfortable temperature ranges.
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The Speed of Sound (3)

For example, c at -50C is 84% of c at +45C, which would result in perceivable differences in the frequency of the same sound. These differences in temperature are extreme (from a human perspective) but only result in a difference in the speed of sound of about 10%.
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The Speed of Sound (4)

The effect of gas density on the speed of sound can be quite great, but there are very few gas mixtures in which humans can live comfortably. 20% oxygen + 80% nitrogen is our normal environment. The effect of gas density rarely has any significant effect on the speed of sound in environments friendly to humans.
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The Speed of Sound (5)

The only other relevant gas mixture is the heliox (helium/oxygen) mixture that deep sea divers use. (You might have tried breathing in helium from a balloon at some time). The speed of sound is higher in this mixture so the frequency components of the human voice are heard at higher frequencies.
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The Speed of Sound (6)

The speed of sound varies greatly in different solids and liquids. As we are mostly interested in speech acoustics then we are mostly interested in the speed of sound in air. For more information on the speed of sound in solids and liquids read the relevant section of the web resource basic acoustics index.
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Sound "Amplitude (1)

The human ear and the microphone (the main artificial transducer of sound) both measure the tiny changes in pressure that result from the passage of a longitudinal wave through a medium.

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Sound "Amplitude (2)

The average air pressure at sea level is approximately equivalent to the pressure exerted by a column of mercury 76 cm high (in a barometer) at 0C under standard gravity. This approximation has been adopted as the definition of the standard measure of air pressure, 1 atmosphere (atm). 1 atm 1.013 x 105 Pa (101,300 Pascal)
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Sound "Amplitude (3)

The sound pressure that is only just perceivable (i.e. the threshold of hearing for a 3200 Hz tone) is taken to be :2 x 10-5 Pa OR 20 Pa (microPascal) and this value is used as a Standard Reference Sound Pressure Level. The actual threshold of hearing varies significantly from frequency to frequency as well as from person to person.
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Sound "Amplitude (4)

Note that the actual threshold sound pressure involved is about 2 x 10-10 times (ie. 1/5,000,000,000) atmospheric pressure. It is common to quote sound pressure in Pa as this measure is almost of the same order of magnitude as the minimum perceivable sound pressures.
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Sound "Amplitude (5)

The threshold of pain (ie. the maximum sound pressure that can be perceived without pain) is about 100 Pa or about 1/1000 atm (atmospheres), which in turn is 5,000,000 times the hearing threshold sound pressure.

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Sound "Amplitude (6)

Thresholds have also been defined in terms of intensity, with the standard intensity threshold of hearing being:- 10-12 Watts.m-2 This is often used as the Standard Reference Sound Intensity The intensity of a sound, with a sound pressure level of 20 Pa, is very close to 10-12 Watts.m-2. These two reference values have been rounded off and so do not describe precisely the same sound level, but they are very close.
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Sound "Amplitude (7)

The intensity of a sound is proportional to the square of the sound pressure. i.e. I P2 (alpha means proportional to) The ratio of the intensity of sound #1 (I1) over the intensity of sound #2 (I2) equals the square of the ratio of the sound pressure of sound #1 (P1) over the sound pressure of sound #2 (P2). (nb. P1 is the sound pressure of sound 1 and I1 is its intensity and similarly for sound 2). i.e. I1/I2 = (P1/P2)2
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deciBels (1)
Fechner (1860) noted that the sensitivity of the ear to changes in intensity was not related linearly to either intensity or pressure, but instead has an approximately logarithmic relationship. The Bel scale (named after Alexander Graham Bell) was approximately linearly related to the ear's sensitivity to sound intensity so that equal steps in Bels were close to equal perceptual steps. A step of 1 Bel is about 10 times greater than the smallest perceivable step and so a new scale was devised, the deciBel (dB). 1 dB = 0.1 Bel or 1 Bel = 10 dB dB = 10 x log10 (I1/I2)
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deciBels (2)
It is common to refer to dB values as "Intensity in dB" (whether derived from intensity or sound pressure) dB can be calculated from either:i. the ratio of two sound intensities dB = 10 x log10 (I1/I2) ii. the ratio of two sound pressures dB = 20 x log10(P1/P2)
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deciBels (3)
When we say that sound 1 is, for example, 10 dB louder than sound 2 we can determine this by measuring the sound pressures (or sound intensities) and using the preceding formulae.

deciBels (4)
Very often, however, we are making a statement about the actual sound pressure or intensity of a sound (relative to all other sounds). To do this we usually use a standard reference sound pressure or a standard reference sound intensity and put these values into the above formulae in the place of P2 or I2 (and call them P0 or I0)
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deciBels (5)
We can express these measures (relative to standard intensity or sound pressure) as:dB (IL: ref=10-12 W.m-2) = 10 x log10 (I/I0) dB (SPL: ref=20Pa) = 20 x log10(P/P0) Note that the ref= values are the reference values already introduced in a previous slide.
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deciBels (6)
You will note that the two formulae on the previous page differ slightly (10x for intensity ratios and 20x for pressure ratios). The intensity formula 10 x log10 (I/I0) can be read as ten times log to the base 10 of the ratio of intensity I over reference intensity I0 (and the other formula can be read in a similar but slightly different way)
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deciBels (7)
Some simple examples: 20 x log10(2/1) = 6dB (SPL) 20 x log10(0.5/1) = -6dB (SPL) 10 x log10(2/1) = 3dB (IL) 10 x log10(0.5/1) = -3dB (IL) i.e. twice the sound pressure is +6 dB, half the sound pressure is -6 dB, twice the intensity is +3 dB, and half the intensity is -3 dB
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deciBels (8)
You must be very careful when doing arithmetic on sound amplitudes. All calculations (except dB calculations) should be carried out on sound intensities, never on sound pressures or dB values (except for a small number of exceptions, and only when you are VERY clear about what you are doing).
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deciBels (9)
NEVER add dB values directly. For example 1 dB + 1 dB does not equal 2 dB When we add two sounds the resultant intensity is ALWAYS between the level of the more intense sound and the level of the more intense sound PLUS 3 dB There is an exception to this which occurs when two sounds cancel each other out, but this only occurs rarely.
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deciBels (10)
When adding together two sounds of the same dB value, add 3 dB When doubling intensity, simply add 3 dB When halving intensity, simply subtract 3 dB Multiplying intensity by four is the same as doubling twice, so add 3 dB twice, etc. Dividing intensity by four is the same as halving twice, so subtract 3 dB twice, etc.
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deciBels (11)
for example: 50 dB + 50 dB = 53 dB 50 dB + 47 dB = 51.8 dB 50 dB + 40 dB = 50.4 dB 50 dB + 20 dB = 50.004 dB 50 dB + 0 dB = 50.00004 dB (nb. 0 dB is not equivalent to I = 0)
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Root Mean Squared - RMS (1)

The R.M.S. method is the only valid way to determine the "average" sound pressure of a length of speech signal. This is because pressures must be first converted to intensities. Remember:I P2 Therefore, the following formula can be used for the calculation of average pressure:-

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Root Mean Squared - RMS (2)

n 1 2 3 4 5 Pn 3 2 0 -2 -3 Pn2 9 4 0 4 9

Root Mean Squared - RMS (3)

The formula for determining the average sound intensity is much simpler (a simple average) but as the microphone is a sound pressure transducer then digitised sound is a sequence of pressure values and so the RMS formula is what is used in digital calculations of average sound amplitude.

Pn2 = 9+4+0+4+9 = 26 (sum of the squares of the pressures) PRMS = (26/5) = 2.28 (divide by the number of samples and get the square root)
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (1)

The acoustic intensity, or average rate at which work is being transferred through a unit area (on the surface of the spherical wave front radiating out from the source in all directions), diminishes with distance in accordance with the inverse square law.
where:- I = the intensity of a sound and r = the distance from the source of the sound
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (2)

For the purposes of this course, we are mostly interested in comparing intensities (and pressures) at varying distances from the sound source. Use the following formula:-

where I1 is the intensity of a sound at distance r1 from the source and I2 is the intensity of the same sound at distance r2 from the source.
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (3)

A question that would typically be asked is If a sound has an intensity of I1 at a distance r1 what would be the intensity at twice that distance from the sound source (ie. r2 = 2 x r1). This would give us:I2 = I1 x (1/2)2 or I2 = I1 / 4 OR if you double the distance, you quarter the intensity.
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (4)

The effect of distance on sound pressure is simpler. For example, if we double the distance we halve the sound pressure. Its important to remember that the RMS formula ONLY applies to acoustic intensities.

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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (5)

We can use a simple two dimensional model to partially illustrate this. In a 2D universe if we have a certain measure of intensity (16 lines of intensity here) passing through a region of length L at one metre, we can see that at 2 metres the same 16 lines pass through 2 x L (and therefore only 8 pass through L).
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (6)

In a 3D universe, we might imagine two squares drawn on the surface of a balloon (initially inflated to a certain radius). Inside a 100x100 unit square on that surface are 1000 dots (representing 1000 units of intensity). This 100x100 unit square might represent an ear drum or a microphone diaphragm.
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (7)

If we inflate the balloon some more so that now its radius is twice as large, the original 100x100 square is now 200x200 units in size (and 4 times the area). Inside a 100x100 square drawn within this square there are only 250 points. The original 1000 points are now spread over 4 times the area.
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Acoustic Intensity and the Inverse Square Law (8)

The acoustic inverse square law is important because in most practical situations we are interested in the amount of sound, at different distances from the sound source, passing through a constant surface area, such as an ears tympanic membrane or a microphone.

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Doppler Effect (1)

If I am stationary a certain number of sound wavefronts (e.g. sine wave peaks) reach my ears per second. If I move towards the sound source my ears intersect a greater number of wavefronts per second and I perceive a higher frequency.
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Doppler Effect (2)

If I am stationary and a sound source moves towards me, each successive wavefront has less distance to travel and so arrives a bit quicker than it would have otherwise. Each wavelength seems shorter so I perceive a higher frequency.
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Doppler Effect (3)

If Im moving away from a sound source or its moving away from me then the opposite occurs and so I perceive a lower frequency. For a source or observer moving at a constant velocity there is a single shift in frequency and that perceived frequency remains constant. The frequency would change continuously if the source or listener velocity is accelerating or decelerating.
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Resources
These notes are derived from the more complete web-based notes at:http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/acoustics/basic_acoustics/index.html

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