Sound Waves

Sound waves are one that is always produced by a vibrating body. This type of waves always provides a mechanical energy around the surroundings. The sound waves is a one that consist of high and low pressure .The high pressure is known as compressions and low pressures are known as rarefactions.

The compressions is a region where the particles are crowded together.The distance between any two compressions or refraction waves is known as wavelength.

Classification Of Sound Waves:

1. Hypersonic waves
2. Ultrasonic waves.
3. Infrasonic waves.
4. Audible waves.

The frequency of audible waves is from 16 Hz to 200000 Hz.

The frequency of infrasonic waves is below 16 Hz.

The frequency of ultrasonic waves is above 20kHz

Hypersonic wave is a type of elastic wave of frequency 10^10 Hz.

Factors Affecting Sound Waves:

Surface Area: The surface area is directly proportional to the loudness of the body producing the sound.

Amplitude: The square of the amplitude of the sounding body is directly proportional to the loudness of the sound produced by the sounding body.

Air: The loudness of the sound produced by the body is more in the direction of air and always less in the direction opposite to the air.

Distance: The intensity of the sound produced by the sounding body is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the listener and the source.

Density: The density of the sound producing body is always proportional to the intensity of the sound.

Is Sound A Transverse Or Longitudinal Wave?:

Transverse Wave: The transverse wave is a type of wave in which the displacement of the  particle is perpendicular to the wave propagation direction.

Longitudinal Waves: The longitudinal wave is a type of wave in which the displacement of the particle is parallel to the wave propagation direction.

The sound waves are always an example of longitudinal waves in both air and fluid mediums.

Characteristics Of Sound Waves:

There are five characteristics in sound waves.They are

1. Wavelength
2. Amplitude
3. Time period
4. Frequency.
5. Velocity of wave.

Wavelength:

The wavelength can also be defined as the distance in which the sound waves repeat itself.The wavelength is always denoted by the letter lambda.The distance between the two compression waves or the two refraction waves is also denoted as the wavelength.

Amplitude:

When waves pass through a particular medium the particles get disturbed from their original position.The amplitude is always measured in terms of meter “m”.

Time Period:

The time period is defined as the time required for the body to complete one cycle or one wave.One complete wave can be produced by the body with one full vibration.The time period is a quantity that is always measured in terms of seconds”s”.

Frequency:

The number of complete waves or complete cycles produced by the sounding body in one second is known as frequency.For example: if 5 cycles are produced in one seconds then the frequency is 5 Hz or 5 cycles per seconds.The si of frequency or the frequency is measured in terms of hertz.The frequency is always denoted by the letter “f”.

Velocity Of Wave:

The distance traveled by the wave produced by the sound producing body is known as the speed of wave or the velocity of wave.The si of measuring the velocity of the wave is meter per seconds.

Uses Of Sound Waves:

• Sonar:

The word SONAR stands for sound navigation and ranging.The SONAR is a process in which the sound waves are used for the process of echolocation.The ships in the seas produce the sound waves( ultrasound waves).The sound waves passes to the sea and hits any underground objects in the sea such as enemy submarines.On hitting the underground objects the sound waves gets reflected back to the ships.By using the time taken,frequency of the wave and distance between the object and ship are noted and it is calculated.

• Soundwaves In Medicine:

The sound waves also have many uses in terms of medicines.The ultrasound waves can be used at very high intensities for the breaking of kidney stones in human kidney.It is also useful in cleaning the medical equipments.The ultrasound waves is also used in the ultrasound scanner. This ultrasound scanner is mainly used to examine the internal organs.

Thus these are some of the uses of sound waves.

Conclusion:

Thus soundwaves is a type of wave that is used in many processes especially also in medical fields. So in this article a brief explanation of the sound waves is given.