When we talk about sound, we all know what we mean. But what exactly is sound? The scientific community has two definitions. On the one hand, the sound waves produced by the compression of the air and that stimulate the auditory nerve of living beings. And, on the other hand, the sensation we experience when the auditory nerves receive a certain stimulus from the outside. Acoustics is a branch of physics that studies sound from both points of view, and these are its properties .
Amplitude (Intensity)
Sound moves through the air in a wave form. The amplitude is how the distance that exists between the highest and the lowest point of a certain wave is called . So it is about intensity, the “volume” that allows us to hear the sound.
Frequency (Height)
When it comes to measuring the frequency of a sound, the measure is hertz . They describe the number of waves per second that complete a cycle. It is about the pitch that the sound has, and it is the way to differentiate a high sound from a low one. The human ear can only perceive frequencies between 20 Hertz and 20 kilohertz.
Stamped
And finally the timbre, one of the main properties of sound. It is known as such the difference that exists between two sounds that have the same frequency and amplitude . In the field of musical instruments, each one has a certain timbre, although they can be played with the same frequency and amplitude.
Curiosities
Once we have explained what the properties of sound are , it is time to learn a series of curiosities about it.
Isaac Newton was the first to study sound. He did so at the end of the 17th century, and tried to determine the speed of sound by calculating the time in which the echo of a noise passed through a tunnel.
The speed of sound is variable , although there is an equation to calculate it that is constant. It can be affected by external agents such as humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature.
And finally, it should be noted that some very low or very high frequencies affect the ear . Although we are not able to perceive the sounds generated by excessively high or low waves, they do affect us.