Simple harmonic motion In mechanics and physics,
simple harmonic motion is a special type of periodic motion or oscillation motion where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement and acts in the direction opposite to that of displacement.
Wave A wave is a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without a net movement of particles. It may take the form of an elastic deformation, a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature.
In short, a wave:
Transfers energy.
Usually involves a periodic, repetitive Movement.
Does not result in a net movement of the medium or particles in the medium (mechanical wave).
Periodic time Motion that repeats itself regularly is called
periodic motion. One complete repetition of the motion is called a cycle. The duration of each cycle is the
period. The frequency refers to the number of cycles completed in an interval of
time.
Periodic Time & Frequency. Thus if the periodic time of a wave is
20millisecond (or 1/50th of a second) then there must be 50 complete cycles of the wave in
one second. A frequency of 50 Hz. Note that when you use this formula, if the periodic time is in seconds then the frequency will be in Hz.
Wavelength A wavelength is a measure of distance between two identical peaks (high points) or troughs (low points) in a wave in a repeating pattern of traveling energy like light or sound.
Amplitude Amplitude is the maximum displacement of points on a wave, which you can think of as the degree or intensity of change. This maximum displacement is measured from the equilibrium position.
Frequency The frequency is the number of wave cycles passing a point per unit time. Stated another way, it is the number of oscillations per second in the wave. A higher frequency means a shorter wavelength, and a lower frequency means a longer wavelength.
Wave velocity Wave velocity in common usage refers to speed, although, properly,
velocity implies both speed and direction. The
velocity of a
wave is equal to the product of its wavelength and frequency (number of vibrations per second) and is independent of its intensity.
Audible sound Audible sound: Human ear can easily detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 KHz. Hence sound waves with frequency ranging from 20 Hz to 20 KHz is known are audible sound. The human ear is sensitive to every minute pressure difference in the air if they are in the audible frequency range. It can detect pressure difference of less than one billionth of atmospheric pressure.
Infrasonic sound The term "
infrasonic" applied to
soundrefers to
sound waves below the frequencies of audible
sound, and nominally includes anything under 20 Hz. Sources of
infrasound in nature include volcanoes, avalanches, earthquakes and meteorites.
Ultrasonic sound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencieshigher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is no different from 'normal' (audible) sound in its physical properties, except in that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies from person to person and is approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz) in healthy, young adults. Ultrasound devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to several gigahertz.
Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics,
Echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the listener. It is caused due to reflection of sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room. A true echo is a single reflection of the sound source.
Reverberation Echoes may be heard more than once due to repeated or multiple reflections of sound from several reflecting surface.This causes persistence of sound called Reverberation. In big halls or auditorium to reduce reverberation, the roofs and walls are covered by sound absorbing materials like compressed fibre board, rough plaster or draperies.