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View Full Version : The Nature of Sound; I'm so CONFUSED


CHSBABY69
Apr 21, 2009, 04:52 PM
[F]I know that all sounds are caused by something that sends off vibrations but what I don't get is how? How do vibrations cause sound I don't understand it the way my teacher tells it to us.:confused:

Perito
Apr 21, 2009, 05:45 PM
It's fairly simple. If you have something that's vibrating, it pushes the air and compresses the air and alternately releases the pulling it back. The compressed air passes the force (actually it's a momentum transfer) to the adjacent air. Thus the "wave" moves through the air until it hits your ear.

It really is a vibration - quite fast.

CHSBABY69
Apr 21, 2009, 05:55 PM
But wait a minute Im only in the 9th grade what you just said totally confused me well I'm working on algebra now and that don't help but can you put that more simple terms

Perito
Apr 21, 2009, 05:57 PM
If something is vibrating on top of a table, can you feel it through the table? The table wood carries the vibrations through the table.

Sound is the same. You have very fast vibrations (it's called "high frequency vibrations"). The air carries the vibrations through the air just like a table carries (lower frequency) vibrations through the table. The vibrations are much faster. They're super fast compared to the very slow vibrations that you might feel through a table.

FlyYakker
Apr 21, 2009, 06:04 PM
I will make a leap of faith here that you are not asking a homework question.

Check this out Vibration (http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Sound/vibration.htm)

Basically as, say, a guitar string vibrates, it causes small pressure waves in the air around it. Simplifying a bit, each back and forth movement of the string causes a small pressure wave so you are talking lots of waves. The pressure waves enter our ears which react to the pressure waves and send nerve signals to the brain which interprets them for us.

You might also do a search on ear function or hearing. Try The Human Ear (http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/sound/u11l2d.html)

CHSBABY69
Apr 21, 2009, 06:15 PM
Thank you so much fly yakker, I maybe a smart 16 year old girl but when it comes down to science I suck thank you so much I under stand now! :d