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What is the difference in compression and rarefaction between a loud sound and a soft sound?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
The difference in compression and rarefaction between a loud and a soft sound is the change in density of the medium conducting the sound. We know that sound is a mechanical wave, and it requires a medium through which to travel. (Sound transfers its energy into the medium to propagate.) Let's do an experiment taking air for the medium and look closely at what is happening.
We've got an amp connected to a speaker and a constant signal being amplified. The signal has a characteristic frequency and amplitude. Air is being compressed and rarefied as the speaker cone moves out and in (respectively) to create the sound. Now we'll turn up the volume and look again.
What we saw before will change in that the speaker cone will move farther out and in than it did before. It will still move at the same rate as it did because the frequency of our signal did not change. But because it is moving further out, it will compress air "more" than it did before the volume was increased. There will also be a correspondingly greater "decompression" of air when the speaker cone moves back. Air density will be greater in the compression phase at the new amplitude than it was. And air density will be less in the rarefaction phase at the new amplitude than it was.
The difference in compression and rarefaction between loud and soft sound is the relative density of the medium during these portions of the wave. Certainly if the sound is moving through a liquid or solid, there will be a much lower change of density of the medium as liquids and solids are largely incompressible by sound. But the idea is the same as it is in the model of sound moving through air.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What of a sound wave is the distance between a compression or rarefaction and the next compression or rarefaction?
It is equal to wavelength.
Rarefaction occurs only in?
Rarefaction only occurs in a longitudinal wave. Rarefaction is the reduction of the density of a medium. It is the opposite of compression.
The propagation of sound waves in gas involves?
Adiabatic compression & rarefaction.
What is the section where a sound wave spreads apart?
It's called the rarefaction (as opposed to the compression)
How are longitudinal waves used in communication?
All sound waves are longitudinal (compression/rarefaction) waves.
What is rare faction of sound wave?
A rare faction is an area of a sound wave where there is lesser compression of the medium,ie Rarefaction is the reduction of a medium's density, or the opposite of compression
Area in which sound waves are pushed together?
This question is misguided. It is not the sound waves which are apart, but the particles of the medium. A place where the particles are further apart is called a rarefaction. Where they are crowded together is called a compression.
What determines if sound is loud or soft?
The determining factor as to the softness or loudness of a sound is the amplitude of the sound wave. We know that sound is mechanical energy, and a source of sound will put mechanical energy into the medium through which it is going to travel. Let's look at the wave. The mechanical wave has a compression phase and a rarefaction phase. In compression, the source compresses the medium to impart energy. In the rarefaction phase, the source will act to decompress the medium. The sound will propagate outward in a series of compression and decompression phases. The difference between a loud and a softer sound is the degree to which a medium is compressed and rarefied during the process by which the sound energy is put into the medium. Fortunately there is a question (and an answer) that goes into this in a bit of detail. It is linked in the Related questions section.
What determines if a sound is loud or soft?
The determining factor as to the softness or loudness of a sound is the amplitude of the sound wave. We know that sound is mechanical energy, and a source of sound will put mechanical energy into the medium through which it is going to travel. Let's look at the wave. The mechanical wave has a compression phase and a rarefaction phase. In compression, the source compresses the medium to impart energy. In the rarefaction phase, the source will act to decompress the medium. The sound will propagate outward in a series of compression and decompression phases. The difference between a loud and a softer sound is the degree to which a medium is compressed and rarefied during the process by which the sound energy is put into the medium. Fortunately there is a question (and an answer) that goes into this in a bit of detail. It is linked in the Related questions section.
What is a dense zone of moleculesproduced by a sound wave?
It is referred to as a compression. The non-dense zone with few molecules is referred to as a rarefaction.
Are surface waves compression waves?
No. surface waves on the surface of water is transverse in nature. It has crests and troughs. Compression and rarefaction will be in longitudinal wave. example sound waves.
The less dense region of a compression wave is called?
The less dense areas created as a sound wave propagates are called rarefactions.
