Antonine University – Faculty of Advertising and Media
Audiovisual techniques: Sound – Teacher: Jean-Paul Jalwan.
CHAPTER I
Definition of sound as a physical phenomenon
1. What is sound?
Sound is an auditory sensation due to a vibration produced by a source. Sound is therefore
produced when an object (the source) vibrates and allows the air molecules around it to transmit
these vibrations.
We can imagine a simple source producing a sound like a squash ball vibrating in a regular
way so that its size varies slightly – sometimes a little smaller than normal and sometimes a little
larger. As the ball begins to vibrate, it compresses (decrease in volume) the air and rarefies it
(increase in volume) in a periodic way (fig. 1).
Fig.1 Sound source.
2. Characteristics of a sound wave
All simple sounds, such as a musical note, can be described exhaustively by three
parameters: pitch, intensity (also called volume) and timbre. These three criteria correspond
respectively to three characteristics of the wave which are its frequency, its amplitude and its
harmonic constitution. On the other hand, noise, which consists of acoustic waves of different
frequencies, cannot be described by these three criteria. Noise is a complex sound.
a. Frequence and Height
The frequency expressed in hertz (Hz) is the number of oscillatory cycles of one
wave per second. The frequency can also be expressed in cps (cycles per second). A
difference in height corresponds to a frequency ratio.
Reminder-1: The frequency is inversely proportional to the period (time that elapses
between two peaks or troughs of the wave). F = 1/T. Therefore, the smaller the time that
elapses between the oscillations of a source, the greater the frequency.
Reminder-2: The frequency of a sound is directly related to the pitch of a perceived
sound, but is only one of its components. At a low frequency corresponds a low sound, at a
high frequency a high sound.
Fig.2 Example of frequencies.
Any living being with hearing can only perceive part of the sound spectrum. The middle
human ear perceives sounds in a certain frequency range located approximately (depending
on age, culture, etc.), between 16 Hz (below sounds are called infrasound) and 20 kHz
(beyond sounds are called ultrasound).
The cat can perceive sounds up to 25 kHz;
The dog perceives sounds up to 35 kHz; Bats and dolphins can perceive sounds with a
frequency of 100 kHz.
b. Amplitude and intensity
It was seen above that the intensity of a sound was related to the amplitude of the
corresponding acoustic wave. The latter actually represents a measure of the displacement of
air molecules (the rate of compression and scarcity of air). The more forcefully the air
molecules hit the ear membrane, the greater the amplitude of the wave will be and therefore
the louder the sound will appear (ofhigh intensity).
Fig.3 Example of intensities
Fig.4 Scale of sound intensities. The intensity of a sound is usually measured in decibels.
c. Harmonic frequencies and timbre
If we play the tuning fork on the instrument of the same name, on a piano or on a
violin, with identical volume, these three sounds have the same frequency and the same
amplitude, but have a markedly different timbre. Of these three sound sources, the purest
sound is that emitted by the tuning fork, as it consists almost exclusively of vibrations with a
frequency of 440 Hz. On the other hand, the sound produced by a piano or violin consists of
a main vibration of 440 Hz, called the fundamental, to which are superimposed other
vibrations whose frequencies are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. These
ancillary vibrations are called harmonics (or harmonic frequencies), and their intensities
determine the timbre of a sound.
3. Sound propagation in the air
In a compressible medium, most often in the air, the sound propagates in the form of a
pressure variation created by the sound source. It is important to note that air particles do not move,
but vibrate a fixed point. The result, however, corresponds to a sound wave that seems to moveaway
from the source. The speed of propagation of the sound wave depends on the density and elasticity
of the substance through which it passes. In the air, sound waves travel at about 340 m/s. In solid
(non-gaseous) environments, sound can propagate even faster. Thus inwater,its speed is 1482 m / s
and in steel 5100 m / s. The sound does not propagate in a vacuum,because there is no matter to
support the waves produced (soundinsulation).
