What is the definition of sound and its terms?
We hear sounds all the time and in our daily life, we are not even aware of them. So what is sound? How can we define it? What is the difference between sound and noise? And what are the terms or premises about sound? As Hatko Sound Barrier, we manufacture products to deal with it. So today, we will talk about it in basic, what does sound mean? Or what is the definition of sound?
According to physics, the sound is a vibration that radiates as an acoustic wave. In order to create a sound, there has to be a movement or a vibration, and it radiates to all directions just like a wave in a sea. In other words, the sound is an oscillation that happens because of an event, displacement, stress, or pressure.
So, all the time there are sound waves. But human physiology can receive only some part of them; which are frequencies between 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Frequency, by the way, is the number of repeating events in an amount or unit of time. And it is measured by the units of hertz (Hz). According to physiology science, we define sound as the reception of the waves and perception of them by the brain.
The sound can propagate only through a transmission medium, such as gas, liquid, or solid. It can’t propagate in space.
What is the Propagation of Sound?
We mentioned before that sound is a sequence of waves and this wave propagates through an environment like solid, air, or water. During the propagation, the environment or the medium can reflect, refract, or attenuate the sound waves. This is very important in order to understand the characteristics of the sound waves. Only this way we can find methods to get protected from harmful sound waves.
So sound waves propagate in three different mediums that we have in our world. As they propagate by vibrating particles that they touch, denser mediums are more successful. So solid is the best medium, the liquid is the second and the air is the third in the propagation of the sound. On the other hand, air condition has a direct effect on the propagation. For example, the temperature difference between the day and night, wind, and other weather events.
Definition of Sound Sources
As sound occurs by a vibration, any vibration that creates a sound can be defined as a sound source. In simple, anything that makes sound is a sound source. There are sound sources all around us. Some people divide sound sources into two; living beings and non-living things. Also, weather events or natural events may be another group.
But in general acceptance, scientists divide sources into two;
- Natural sound sources,
- Artificial sound sources.
Natural sources include all kinds of weather events, humans, other living organisms, rivers, sea waves, and other natural sounds that happen by themselves.
On the other hand, artificial sources are machines, all types of transporters, musical instruments, and other artificial sounds that are created by humans.
By the way, we should add that not all the sounds are good for the human ear. Especially loud sounds, we generally call them noise, have harmful effects on humans and other living forms. We have talked about the differences between noise and sound in another article before. So, what are these harmful effects? We will talk about them right now.
Harmful Effects of Loud Noise
We can divide general effects into two groups;
Negative Effects on Hearing
- Deformation of the eardrum,
- Temporarily or permanent hearing loss.
Physiologic or Psychologic Effects
- Stress,
- Increase in blood pressure,
- Negative effects on heartbeat,
- Insomnia,
- Nerve diseases,
- Being tired,
- Fear,
- Uneasiness.
So we can understand that sound is very important for our lives. Without sounds, it is nearly impossible for us to communicate and endure our lives. But, especially in today’s modern world, there are so many harmful effects caused by noise. And it is important to diminish them in order to protect our health.
In order to diminish these effects, we can take our personal protections. But the best solutions are structural solutions like noise barriers. Managements install noise barriers around the sound sources like railroads, highways, or industrial areas. The design of these barriers enclose the sound waves inside and protect the environment from harmful effects. They are the most effective solutions against noise effects.
As the Hatko Sound Barrier Company, we produce our barriers with the latest technology methods and machines. We manufacture the best quality sound and noise barriers. If you have any kind of questions about noise and its effects, please feel free to contact us anytime.
