Because learning changes everything.

Chapter 16

Sound
University Physics with
Modern Physics
Third Edition
Wolfgang Bauer Gary D. Westfall

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 Sound

• Sound is a longitudinal pressure

wave.
• Sound needs a medium in which
to propagate.
• Experiment: A bell in an
evacuated jar does not ring.
• The denser the medium, the faster
the sound propagates.

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 Sound Velocity

The velocity of light is much

bigger than velocity of sound.

• Light: v = 300,000 km/s.

• Sound: v ~ 0.343 km/s.

Example: fireworks:

• First you see the flash. Smileus/Shutterstock

• A second or two later you

hear the explosion.

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 Speed of Sound, Quantitative

• Already found in last chapter for a string:

T
v

• Thin solid rod (E = Young’s modulus, ρ = density):

E
v

• In a gas (B = bulk modulus, ρ = density):

B
v

• In general:
v(solid)  v(liquid)  v(gas)
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 Speed of Sound 1

• Consider a fluid in a long cylinder with moveable piston on one end.

• Pushing the piston with speed v p will move the fluid element in front of it
with which speed v?
• Pushing the piston will cause a pressure change (m = mass of fluid element):

F ma m vp
p
A A A t

• What is m?

m V Al
m vp Al vp lvp
p
A t A t t
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 Speed of Sound 2

• What is l? l = vΔt.
• Therefore the pressure difference is:
lvp (v t )vp
p vvp
t t
• The definition of the bulk modulus is:
V
p B
V
• We can combine the
expression for the pressure and
result obtained above to get:
V
p vvp B
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 Speed of Sound 3

• The volume of moving fluid is proportional to v since:

V Al Avp t

• Also the volume change caused by pushing the piston into the cylinder is:
V Avp t

• So we have:
V /V vp / v

• Putting this into our expression for

the pressure yields:

V vp B
vvp B B v2 B v
V v

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 Speed of Sound in Various Materials

Table 16.1 Speed of Sound in Some Common Substances

Substance Speed of Sound (m/s)
Gases Krypton 220
Carbon dioxide 260
Air 343
Helium 960
Hydrogen 1280
Liquids Methanol 1143
Mercury 1451
Water 1480
Seawater 1520
Solids Lead 1160
Concrete 3200
Hardwood 4000
Steel 5800
Aluminum 6400
Diamond 12,000

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 Speed of Sound in Air

• At normal atmospheric pressure and 20 °C:

v(air) = 343 m/s
• Same conditions, but other gases: CO2: 260 m ∕ s,
helium: 960 m ∕ s.
• 5-second rule for lightning: 1
mile distance for each 5 seconds
between lightning and thunder.
• Temperature dependence:
v(T ) = (331 + 0.6 (T / C)) m/s

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 Football Cheers

PROBLEM:
• A student’s apartment is located 3.75 km from the stadium.
• He is watching live on TV and sees his team score a TD.
• 11.2 seconds after he hears the roar on TV, he hears it again from
outside, as the sound wave has made it to his house.
• What is the temperature?
SOLUTION:
x 3750 m
The speed of sound is: v = = = 334.8 m/s.
t 11.2 s
• Solve previous formula for temperature:
v(T ) / (m/s) − 331 3.8
T= C = C = 6.4 C
0.6 0.6
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 Sound Reflection

Sound waves, like all waves, are at least partially reflected at media
boundaries.
You can hear the delay of sound echoing from distant objects.
• A round trip of 2.0 km takes 5.8 s.
Sound with very high frequency (ultrasound) is used to produce detailed
images of human tissue.

Speed of ultrasound wave in water is

1540 m/s.
• A round trip of 20.0 cm takes 130 μs.
Bats and dolphins use reflected sound to
navigate in the dark.
Steve Allen/Stockbyte/Getty Images

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 Sound Intensity 1

• Intensity unit: Power / area W / m2.

• Previous chapter results for spherical waves also holds for
sound:
2
I (r1 ) r2
I (r2 ) r1
• Human hearing shows amazing range from detecting whispers at
10 12 W m 2 to the loudest sounds produced by airplanes or rock
bands at 1 W m 2 .
• A logarithmic scale for sound intensity is appropriate.
• The unit of this log scale is bel (b) or, more commonly, decibel
(db, 1 db = 0.1 b).
• Use β for intensity in the decibel scale.
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 Sound Intensity 2

• Definition:
I 12
10log , I0 10 W m2
I0
• I 0 refers to approximately the minimum sound intensity a
person can hear.
• Example: an intensity of 1000 times the reference value I 0
in decibel is:
10log1000 dB 10 3 dB 30 dB
• Typical sound levels are 30 dB in a quiet home, 40 to 50 dB on a
golf course, 60 to 70 dB for street traffic, 90 dB at a railroad
crossing, 110 to 130 dB in a dance club, and 120 dB when
operating a jackhammer.
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 Relative Intensity, Dynamic Range

Compare two intensities:

 =  2 − 1
I2 I
= 10log − 10log 1
I0 I0
= 10(log I 2 − log I 0 ) − 10(log I1 − log I 0 )
= 10log I 2 − 10log I1
I2
= 10log
I1
Dynamic range is Δβ between loudest and quietest sounds.
• For a compact disk: 90 dB; for old LPs: 70 dB.
The larger the dynamic range, the better.
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 Relative Sound Levels at a Rock Concert 1

• Two friends attend a rock concert and bring along a sound meter.
• With this device, one of the friends measures a sound level of
1 105.0 dB while the other, who is sitting 4 rows (2.8 m)
closer to the stage, measures 2 105.0 dB.
PROBLEM:
• How far away are the two friends from the speakers?
SOLUTION:
Think
• We can combine our knowledge of the two intensities to get the
relative sound levels at the two seats.
• Knowing the distance between the seats, we can calculate the
distance of the seats from the speakers.

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 Relative Sound Levels at a Rock Concert 2

Sketch

Research
• The distance of the first friend from the speakers is r1.
• The distance of the second friend from the speakers is r2 .
• The intensity of the sound at r1 is I1 and the intensity of the sound at r2 is I 2 .
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 Relative Sound Levels at a Rock Concert 3

• The sound level at r1 is 1 and the sound level at r2 is 2 .

• We can express the two intensities in terms of the two distances:
I1 r22
I2 r12
• We can relate the sounds levels to the sound intensities:
I2
2 1 10log
I1
• Combining these two equations gives us:
2
r1 r1
2 1 10log 20log
r2 r2

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 Relative Sound Levels at a Rock Concert 4

• Δβ is given in the problem as well as:

• We can solve for r1 and then get r2

Simplify
• Substituting in the relationship between the two distances:
r1
20log
r1 2.8 m
/ 20 r1
10
r1 2.8 m
/ 20 / 20 / 20
r1 2.8 m 10 r110 2.8 m 10 r1
2.8 m 10 / 20
r1
10 / 20 1
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 Relative Sound Levels at a Rock Concert 5

Calculate
• The distance of the first friend from the speakers:
2.8 m 10 108.0 dB 105.0 dB /20

r1 108.0 dB 105.0 dB /20

9.58726 m
10 1
• The distance of the second friend to the speakers is:
r2 9.58726 m 2.8 m 6.78726 m
Round
• We report our results to two significant figures:
r1 9.6 m and r2 6.8 m
Double-check
• Put our results back into our equation for Δβ:
9.6 m
108.0 dB -105.0 dB 3.0 dB 20log 3.0 dB
6.8 m
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 Intensities of Common Sounds

Table 16.2 Levels of Sounds in Common Situations

Sound Sound Level (dB)
Quietest sound heard 0
Background sound in library 30
Golf course 40 to 50
Street traffic 60 to 70
Train at railroad crossing 90
Dance club 110
Jackhammer 120
Jet taking off from aircraft carrier 130 to 150

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 Sound Attenuation

As sound travels through a medium, its intensity is reduced by:

• increasing distance, 1/ r 2 .
• scattering and absorption.
Sound attenuation can be expressed as:
x
I I 0e
x is the path length.
is the absorption coefficient.
α is different for different materials and depends on the frequency
of the sound.
• α generally increases with frequency

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 Human Hearing

Human ears can detect sound waves in the frequency range from 20 to
20,000 Hz.
Corresponding range of wavelengths:
• 17 m to 0.0017 m.
The ability to hear a sound depends strongly on the frequency of the
sound as well as the age of the person.
• Teenagers can hear frequencies of 10,000 Hz but retirees cannot hear
them.
We hear best at frequencies around 1000 Hz.
A sound level above 130 dB will cause pain.
A sound level about 150 dB will rupture the eardrum.
Prolonged exposure to sound levels above 120 dB causes loss of hearing
sensitivity.

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 Sound Interference 1

• Like all 3-dimensional

waves, sounds waves from
two or more sources can
interfere in space and time.
• Consider interference of
sound emitted by two
coherent sources.
• Coherent sources have the
same frequency and are in
phase.

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 Sound Interference 2

• The circular arcs represent the

maxima of the sound waves at
a given instant of time.
• The distance between
neighboring arcs from one
source is one wavelength.
• The arcs from the different
speakers intersect.
• Points A and C are 8λ away
from the lower speaker, while
A is 5λ away from the upper
speaker and C is 6λ away.
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 Sound Interference 3

• The path length, r r2 r1 ,

is an integer multiple of the
wavelength where the arcs
intersect.
• This relationship is a condition
for constructive interference:
r n ,n 0, 1, 2,...
• About half way between points A
and C is point B.
• Point B is 8λ away from the
lower speaker but falls on a
minimum for the upper speaker
and they cancel.
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 Sound Interference 4

• Destructive interference
occurs at point B.
• The condition for
destructive interference is:
1
r n ,n 0, 1, 2,...
2
• Wave interference can be
demonstrated using a
ripple tank.

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 Doppler Effect 1
50 mph
Experiment:
• Drive a car past an observer
at three different speeds:
• 20 mph (2.6 % of vsound )
• 50 mph (6.5 % of vsound )
65 mph
• 65 mph (8.5 % of vsound )
20 mph

© W. Bauer and G.D. Westfall

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 Doppler Effect 2

Why do we hear the frequency shift?

How do we explain this mathematically?
Start with a source at rest.
• It emits sound with frequency f and wavelength λ vsound / f .
• λ is the distance between successive wave crests.
If the source moves with a speed vsource toward the observer, then
the distance between two successive wave crests as seen by the
observer is:

vsound vsource
o
f

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 Doppler Effect 3

• Then the frequency of sound as registered by the observer is:

vsound vsound
fo f
o vsound vsource

• If the source moves away from the observer, then the sign of the
source velocity changes, leading us to:

vsound vsound
fo f
o vsound vsource

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 Doppler Effect: Moving Observer

• If the observer moves toward the source, she crosses the wave
crests emitted by the source in less time; if she moves away from
the source, in more time.
• Result (without derivation):
vsound vobserver vobserver
fo f f 1
vsound vsound

• The upper sign (−) refers to the case where the observer moves
away from the source, and the lower sign (+) to the case where
the observer moves toward the source.

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 Doppler Effect: General Case

General formula for observed frequency of sound f o as a

function of emitted frequency of sound f :
• vsound sound velocity
vobserver velocity of observer vsound vobserver
• fo f
vsound vsource
• vsorce velocity of source
+ − signs for the following cases:
• Source moves away from observer: +
• Source moves towards observer: −
• Observer moves away from source: −
• Observer moves towards source: +
If the source and observer are moving in the same direction but
with different speeds, the signs of the velocities must be chosen
with respect to the fixed medium of the air.
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 Doppler Ultrasound Measurement of Blood Flow 1

PROBLEM:
• What is the typical frequency change for ultrasound waves
reflecting off of blood flowing in an artery?
SOLUTION:
• Ultrasound waves have a typical frequency of f = 2.0 MHz.
• Blood flows in an artery with a speed of vblood 1.0 m / s.
• The speed of ultrasound waves in human tissue is:
vsound 1540 m / s.
• The blood cells can be thought of as moving observers for the
ultrasound waves.
• The frequency observed by the blood cell, f 1, is : vblood
f1 f 1
vsound
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 Doppler Ultrasound Measurement of Blood Flow 2

• The reflected ultrasound waves with frequency f1 are a moving

source.
• The stationary Doppler ultrasound device will observe
ultrasound waves with frequency, f 2 given by:
vsound
f 2 f1
vsound vblood
• So the Doppler ultrasound device will see the frequency:
vblood vsound
f2 f 1
vsound vsound vblood
• Note that this is just a special case of moving source and moving
observer with the speed of the observer and source equal to the
speed of the blood cell.
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 Doppler Ultrasound Measurement of Blood Flow 3

• Putting in our numbers gives us:

1.0 m s 1540 m s
f2 2.0 MHz 1 2.0026 MHz
1540 m s 1540 m s 1.0 m s
• The frequency difference is:
f f2 f 2.6 kHz
• This frequency difference corresponds to the blood flow when the heart
pulses.
• Between heart beats, the blood slows down.
• Combining the original frequency with the reflected frequency gives a beat
frequency, f b f2 f .
• These frequencies can be heard, which means the beat frequency can be
amplified and used as a heart monitor.

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 Moving Observer, Stationary Source Solution

vobserver A.
f observed f 1
vsound
B.
vobserver
f f 1 C.
vsound
D. It depends on the
vobserver
f f 1 original frequency f
vsound
E. It depends on the
vobserver vobserver source velocity vsource
f f f 1 f f
vsound vsound
vobserver vobserver
f f f f 1 f
vsound vsound
so

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 Mach Cone

• What happens when we exceed the speed of sound with our source velocity?
• We observe a Mach cone.
• The Mach angle is:

vsound t
sin M
vsource t

 vsound 
 M = sin  
−1

 source 
v
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 The Concorde 1

• The speed of a supersonic aircraft is often given as a Mach number, M.

• A speed of Mach 1 (M = 1) means that the aircraft is traveling at the
speed of sound.
• A speed of Mach 2 (M = 2) means that the aircraft is traveling at twice
the speed of sound.

• The now-retired Concorde

supersonic airliner cruised at
60,000 feet, where the speed of
sound is 295 m/s (661 miles
per hour).
• The maximum cruise speed of
the Concorde was Mach 2.04
(M = 2.04).
Aviation Images Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo

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 The Concorde 2

PROBLEM:
• At Mach 2.04, what was the angle of the resulting Mach cone produced by
the Concorde?
SOLUTION:
• The angle of the Mach cone is:
1 vsound
M sin
vsource
• The source in the case is the Concorde, which is traveling with a speed:
vsource Mvsound 2.04vsound
• We can write angle of the Mach cone as:

1 vsound 1 1
M sin sin
Mvsound M

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 The Concorde 3

• For the Concorde we then have:

1 1
M sin 0.512 rad 29.4
2.04

• The Concorde was retired in 2003.

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 Closed (at one end) and Open (at both ends) Pipes

Standing waves on strings form the basis of all stringed

instruments.
• Standing waves on strings can only be produced at resonant
frequencies.
Wind instruments use closed (at one end) pipes and open (at both
ends) pipes.
An example of an instrument based on a closed (at one end) pipe is
the clarinet.
An example of an instrument based on an open (at both ends) pipe
is the flute.
We will look the possible standing waves in closed and open pipes.

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 Closed (at one end) Pipes

• We must have at least ¼ of a wavelength of a standing wave in

the pipe.

2n 1
L , n 1, 2,3,...
4
4L
n , n 1, 2,3,...
2n 1

v
fn (2n 1) , n 1, 2,3,...
4L

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 Open (at both ends) Pipes

• Now we have at least ½ wavelength, instead of ¼.

n
L , n 1, 2,...
2
2L
n , n 1, 2,...
n

v
fn n , n 1, 2,...
2L

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 A Pipe Organ 1

• Organs operate by creating standing waves in pipes.

PROBLEM:
• Suppose you want to
construct an organ that
covers the same
frequencies as a piano.
• What range of lengths
would you need for the
pipes?
SOLUTION: stockcam/iStock/Getty Images

• The frequencies corresponding to A0

and C8 are 27.5 Hz and 4186 Hz.

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 A Pipe Organ 2

• Pipe organs can have both closed (at one end) pipes and open (at
both ends) pipes:
v v
f1,closed and f1,open
4L 2L
• The open pipes are twice as long as the closed pipes for the same
frequency.
• For closed pipes we have:

v 343m s
Lclosed,C8 2.05 cm
4 f C8 4 4186 Hz
v 343m s
Lclosed,A0 3.12 m
4 f A0 4 27.5 Hz
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 Standing Waves in a Pipe 1

PROBLEM:
A standing wave is set up in a pipe of length 0.410 m as shown below.

What is the frequency of this sound?

SOLUTION:
Think
The standing sound wave is in a closed (at one end) pipe.
• The pipe is closed on the left end and open on the right end.
4 nodes are visible.

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 Standing Waves in a Pipe 2

Sketch
• We redraw the standing wave, adding the pipe and nodes.

Research
• The frequency of this standing wave in a closed (at one end)
pipe is:
v
fn 2n 1 with n 4 nodes
4L
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 Standing Wave in a Pipe 3

Simplify
• Putting everything together:
v v
fn 2 4 1 7
4L 4L
Calculate
• Inserting our numbers:
7 343m s
fn 1464.02 Hz
4 0.410 m
Round
• We report our result to 3 significant figures:
7 343 m s
fn 1460 Hz
4 0.410 m
Double-check
• This frequency is within the range of human hearing.
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