“Each celestial body, in fact each and every atom, produces a particular sound on account of its movement, its rhythm or vibration. All these sounds and vibrations form a universal harmony in which each element, while having its function and character, contributes to the whole’’- Pythagoras.
“The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach’’ –Henry Beston.
SOUND IS LIKE A FORM OF ENERGY
Sound is like a form of energy, just like electricity, heat or light. In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as a typically audible mechanical wave of pressure and displacement, through a medium such as air or water. In physiology and psychology, sound is the reception of such waves and their perception by the brain.
WHAT IS THE DEFENITION OF SOUND ENERGY?
Sound energy is a form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. Sound is a mechanical wave and as such consists physically in oscillatory elastic compression and in oscillatory displacement of in a fluid. Therefore, the medium acts as storage for both potential and kinetic energy as well.
IS A SOUND WAVE TRANSVERSE OR LONGITUDINAL?
For a sound wave travelling through air, the vibrations of the particles are best described as longitudinal. Longitudinal waves are waves in which the motion of the individual particles of the medium is in a direction that is parallel to the direction of energy transport.
ACOUSTICS
Acoustics is the branch of physics concerned with the study of sound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering.
ULTRASONIC SOUND
Ultrasounds are sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. The term ‘ultrasonic’ applied to sound refers to anything above the frequencies of audible sound, and nominally includes anything over 20000 Hz. Few animals can hear ultrasonic waves. Some of the animals that can hear them are dogs, cats, bats, seals, whales, dolphins, sea lions, porpoises, rodents etc.
ULTRASOUND IS USED IN MANY DIFFERENT FIELDS
Industrially, ultrasound is used for cleaning, mixing and to accelerate chemical processes. Ultrasonic devices are used to detect objects and measure distances. Ultrasound Imaging is often used in medicine. In the nondestructive testing of products and structures, ultrasound is used to detect invisible flaws. Animals such as bats and porpoises use ultrasound for locating prey and obstacles.
Scientists are also studying ultrasound using grapheme diaphragms as a method of communication.