How do particles within the medium travel

The diagram below portrays the presence of position of air molecules within the tube at an instant in time. Which of the labeled regions are compressions? List all that apply The diagram shows a snapshot at one instant in time of the particles of air within the tube.

The expected pattern of alternating compressions and rarefactions is observed within the tube. There are locations in which particles are smooshed or pressed together and locations in which particles are pulled apart or spread out.

What are compressions and rarefactions? Suppose that you are watching a science fiction film involving two space ships in the deep void of outer space. In the film, an explosion occurs on space ship A. After seeing the fiery blast from a long distance away, the occupants of space ship B hear the loud boom of the blast. As discussed in the Physics Rules section above, sound waves travel through a medium by means of particle-to-particle interaction. The source sets surrounding particles vibrating about their fixed position.

By means of particle-to-particle interaction, all particles within the medium are soon vibrating about their fixed position. Sound waves can travel through any medium in this fashion by means of particle-to-particle interaction. Sound waves cannot travel through no medium. That is, sound waves cannot travel through a region of space void of matter - a vacuum. In the absence of particles, sound waves no longer exist. Physics Tutorial. My Cart Subscription Selection. The Physics Classroom ».

Definition of Longitudinal Waves and Transverse Waves : There are a variety of wave types that can exist in a medium. A transverse wave is a type of wave in which particles of the medium vibrate in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction which the wave moves. Eventually the effect reaches the ear and is made into signals which are sent to the brain. Sound vibrations, then, travel outwards in all directions in waves from a sound source. As they travel outwards the energy they contain becomes dissipated and therefore the sound becomes weaker the further it is from the source.

The shape of a sound wave with no obstacles in its way would be approximately spherical. Figure 1 shows the air as particles or molecules. Where the molecules are pushed closer together is an area of compression and when they spring back even further apart than before there is an area of rarefaction. Period and Frequency The frequency is the number of complete vibration cycles of a medium per a given amount of time. Since the symbol f is used for frequency and the symbol T is used for period, these equations are also expressed as: Amplitude and Energy The amount of energy carried by a wave is related to the amplitude of the wave.

Speed of a Wave The speed of a wave depends upon the properties of the medium. Boundary Behavior As a wave travels through a medium, it will often reach the end of the medium and encounter an obstacle or perhaps another medium through which it could travel. Incident wave is the original wave that is traveling toward the boundary Reflected wave is the portion of the incident wave that reflects off the boundary and returns into the original medium. My Resources. Classroom News.

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Parallel Circuits. Standard Model. Static Electricity. Electrical Fields. Review Book. Midterm Review. My Booklist. My Links. Academic Cheating. My Slide Shows. Sound cannot travel through a vacuum because there are no particles to carry the vibrations. The air is made up of many tiny particles. When sound is created, the air particles vibrate and collide with each other, causing the vibrations to pass between air particles.

The vibrating particles pass the sound through to a person's ear and vibrate the ear drum.