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V: Sound and waves

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    164565
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    • Chapter 19: Vibrations and Waves
      This page introduces waves and vibrations, highlighting their daily relevance and key properties like amplitude and frequency, while categorizing waves into longitudinal and transverse types. It discusses torsional waves, their interference patterns, and consequences like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, as well as standing waves and harmonics. The Doppler effect is explained, showcasing frequency changes due to relative motion, alongside calculations for wave speed and frequency.
    • Chapter 20: Sound
      This page provides an overview of sound waves, detailing their characteristics such as frequency and amplitude, and how they interact with various mediums. It covers phenomena like reflection, refraction, interference, and resonance, as well as practical applications in acoustics and ultrasonic sensing. Calculations and experiments for understanding sound frequency are included, encouraging hands-on learning.
    • Chapter 21: Musical sounds
      This page examines the differences between music and noise, emphasizing sound wave categorization by frequency and amplitude. It discusses subjective musical perceptions and the physics of sound through Fourier analysis. The chapter highlights loudness as a subjective experience related to amplitude and introduces the decibel scale for measuring sound intensity, including safety warnings about high sound levels.

    Thumbnail: Photo by Sooi Meeus on Unsplash


    This page titled V: Sound and waves was last modified on Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:07:22 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Alyssa J. Pasquale, David R. Fazzini, and Carley Bennett via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.