Propagation of sound

 

Propagation of sound

 

The sound is produced by the to and fro movement of an object which is also called as vibrations. The substances or matter through which sound is transmitted is called as medium. These medium can be solid, liquid or gas.  The sound waves consist of the particles of the medium through which it travels. A sound is a form of energy which is transmitted in the form of the sound waves. Sound moves through the medium from the point of generation to the listener. When the object gets vibrates, then the air which is surrounding their also vibrates and sound waves are carried. When there is no medium, then vibration in an object will not travel through them.

When an object get vibrates, the particles of the surrounding of the medium also vibrates. The particles do not travel all the way from the vibrating object to the ear. When the particle of the medium is contact with the vibrating object, the particle is first displaced from its equilibrium position. It then exerts a force on the adjacent particle. As a result of which the adjacent particle gets displaced from its position of the rest. After displacing the adjacent particle, the first particle comes back to its original position. This process continues in the medium till the sound reaches your ear. The disturbance created by a source of sound in the medium travels through the medium and not the particles of the medium. This is the mechanism for the propagation of sound.

 

    

 

 

 

Why are sound waves called mechanical waves?

A sound wave is a disturbance that moves through a medium (like solid, liquid or gas) when the particles of the medium set the neighbouring particles or nearby particles in to the motion. The particles of the medium do not move forward but the disturbance is carried forward. Due to such propagation of sound wave in a medium, sound may be visualised as a wave. Sound wave are characterized by the motion of the particles in the medium are known as mechanical wave.