sound waves
Air pressure oscillations
Sound waves are vibrations that travel through air, water, or other materials, carrying what we hear as sound.
Unlike light waves, they require a medium—sound can't travel through a vacuum.
The waves compress and expand the medium as they move: Sound waves from the explosion reached us seconds later.
Pitch depends on frequency, volume on amplitude.
Rate of recurrence
- amplitudeMaximum oscillation displacement
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
- propagationAct of spreading widely
- decibelTenth of a bel
resonance · diffraction · refraction · absorption · reflection · interference · oscillation · compression
Frequency measurement unit
- kilohertzThousand-cycle frequency unit
- infrasoundSound below 20 Hz
- sonicRelating to sound waves
- energy transferPower moving between systems
vibration · periodic · sinusoidal · phase · spectrum · bandwidth · intensity · inverse square law
Frequency of sound
- toneQuality of sound
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
- overtonesImplicit secondary meanings
- timbreSound's distinctive character
resonance · vibrato · octave · tuning · consonance · dissonance · chord · fundamental
Perceived sound intensity
- hearingPerceiving sound waves
- auditoryOf or relating to hearing
- earAuditory organ
- cochleaSpiral hearing organ
eardrum · frequency response · threshold · audible · inaudible · tinnitus · noise · silence
Navigation through reflected sound
- audiometryEvaluation of hearing ability
- microphoneAudio input device
- loudspeakerSound amplification device
- transducerEnergy form converter
noise-cancelling · acoustic treatment · hydrophone · seismograph · audio engineering · signal processing · synthesizer · equalizer
frequency
Rate of recurrence
- amplitudeMaximum oscillation displacement
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
- propagationAct of spreading widely
decibel · resonance · diffraction · refraction · absorption · reflection · interference · oscillation · compression · rarefaction
hertz
Frequency measurement unit
- kilohertzThousand-cycle frequency unit
- infrasoundSound below 20 Hz
- sonicRelating to sound waves
energy transfer · vibration · periodic · sinusoidal · phase · spectrum · bandwidth · intensity · inverse square law · harmonic
pitch
Frequency of sound
timbre · resonance · vibrato · octave · tuning · consonance · dissonance · chord · fundamental · acoustic instrument
loudness
Perceived sound intensity
cochlea · eardrum · frequency response · threshold · audible · inaudible · tinnitus · noise · silence · volume
echolocation
Navigation through reflected sound
- audiometryEvaluation of hearing ability
- microphoneAudio input device
- loudspeakerSound amplification device
transducer · noise-cancelling · acoustic treatment · hydrophone · seismograph · audio engineering · signal processing · synthesizer · equalizer · oscilloscope
- Things that spreaddiseases, infections, viruses, bacteria, germs
- Invisiblesair, atoms, electrons, gravity, magnetism
- sound wavesacoustic energy, wavelength, waveform, amplitude, frequency
- wave scienceocean waves, wavelength, breaking waves, standing waves, peak period
- audioheadphones, audio track, volume control, noise, static
- soundechoes, acoustics, vibrations, audio, volume
sound waveslight waves
Electromagnetic radiation we perceive
electromagnetic radiation · electromagnetic waves · radio waves · gamma rays · X-rays
sound waveselectromagnetic waves
Self-propagating field oscillations
sound, wave, sounds, sounding, sounded, resound, resounding, unsound, ultrasound