Sound : Making Sense of Vibrations

We experience sound every day through a medium that is impossible to touch or see. The science of sound is complex, involving the production of vibrations, which are then converted into physical waves that travel through the air or other mediums. And yet, at its basic core, sound is really quite simple – it is all about vibrations.

What Is Sound?

Sound is a vibration that propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through a medium such as air, water or any other gas or liquid. When something vibrates, it produces sound. That vibration creates a wave of pressure that moves outward from the vibration source and compresses anything it passes through, creating a wave pattern that eventually makes its way to your ears. In simplest terms, sound is a compression wave and the energy it carries is translated into what we hear.

The Source of Sound

The sound starts off when an object or object’s surface vibrates in a rhythmic pattern and creates sound waves. Put another way, sound is created when something vibrates, whether that something is a vocal cord, a guitar string, a sheet of metal, a drum head, or even a speaker cone. The vibrating object or surface moves back and forth in a pattern, creating pressure waves in the fluid or solid material around it. When these pressure waves reach your ears they are converted into sound.

Sound Properties

Sound is measured in terms of frequency and amplitude. Frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz), is the number of times the sound wave cycle is repeated in a second. The human ear can typically hear from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, and those frequencies we can detect are referred to as the audible range. Anything above or below that range is known as ultrasound or infrasound, respectively. The louder a sound is, the higher its amplitude, or intensity. This is measured in decibels (dB).

Conclusion

Sound is made up of vibrating energy that compresses and expands air molecules as it passes through, creating pressure waves that travel from the source of the sound through the air until they reach our ears. We measure sound in terms of its frequency and amplitude, or the number of times the sound cycles per second and the sound’s intensity. This vibration is responsible for the rhythm and melody of music, the clarity and intensity of our voices and enables us to communicate through sound. Its endless possibilities are what make sound a powerful element of our lives.