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Rachel Rasmussen Ideas of Science Dr. Spradley 2/24/12 The History of Sound Without sound, the world would be a different place. Sound is everywhere. Even the silence, the absence of sound, can be heard. Through the medium of sound, the world communicates. Ocean waves lap against the shore continuously serenading the beach. People talk, speak, and discuss to build relationships, solve problems, and entertain. Music captivates people, capable of evoking deep emotions, positive and negative. Animals neigh, bark, meow, hiss, and cluck, employing a grand variety of sounds to communicate. Because sound is such a major part of this world, the history of sound is an important topic in the study of physics. This paper will provide a basic history of the study of sound and sound waves. To begin, sound is defined in The Science and Applications of Acoustics by engineer, professor, and author Daniel R. Raichel as this: Sound may be described as the passage of pressure fluctuations through an elastic medium as a result of vibrational impetus imparted to that medium (Raichel 13). To simplify

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that statement, sound could be described as waves that move through various substances (air, water, and more) as a result of pressure on the substance. Winston E. Kock, member of the Bell Telephone Laboratory and former director of the NASA Electronic Research Center, says in his book, Sound Waves and Light Waves, Wave motion must figure in the earliest memories of us allThe symmetrical patterns appeal to something basic in the human mind (Kock 1). This shows how the wave theory of sound appeals to humans, even from the beginning of history. Because sound affects this world to such a great extent, the study of it has a history which extends far back into time. Joseph L. Spradley writes in his book Visions that Shaped the Universe, Sound has been long associated with vibrations and waves (Spradley 144). Ancient Chinese, Arab, and Greek people studied sound in very early B.C. And the Ancient Greeks thought that sound was caused by waves from the beginning. Their literature even highlighted this belief. Throughout the rest of the Middle Ages, there was little or no more discovery about sound and sound waves. Leonardo da Vinci made an important contribution to this study when as stated in The Science and Applications of Acoustics, His observations led him to correlate the waves generated by a stone caste into water with the propagation of sound waves as similar phenomena (Raichel 3). Next, the French philosopher

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Marin Mersenne made strides when he scientifically described an audible tone, eventually finding that sound travels at a measurable, finite speed. The classic vacuum experiment was performed by Robert Boyle, who used it to prove the necessity of air to produce sound. Boyles experiment disproved an experiment done by Kircher thought to negate Boyles hypothesis. His (Boyle) vacuum experiment was eventually performed in front of the Royal Society by Francis Hausksbee. Newton then attempted to derive the theoretical speed of sound. His estimate turned out to be wrong, but it instigated the study of the speed of sound. It was found by Bianoni and Condamine that temperature affected the speed of sound. 1 Many observations discovered about optical phenomena were applied not only to light, but also to sound. Although Newton had discouraged the wave theory, it was later revived by Thomas Young and Augustin Jean Fresnel. They also independently clarified the principle of interference. A basis of theoretical mechanics was provided by the French mathematical school, and Ohm began exploring the possibilities of harmonics. 2 Into the nineteenth century, greater discoveries of sound and sound waves were overturned. Ultrasonics were discovered by Joule in 1847, as the electromagnetic theories were being explored. Paul-Jacques and Pierre Curie were contributing to these discoveries. After this, the study of underwater sound became

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Raichel, Daniel R. The Science and Applications of Acoustics. New York: Springer Science+Business Media, 2006. Print.

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important to aid ships in avoiding danger in the ocean. Chilowsky and Langevin collaborated to experiment with electrostatic projectors and carbon-button microphones. They soon detected echoes from the bottom of the ocean, a huge contribution to the underwater sound studies of the early twentieth century. Langevin invented the first electronic underwater sound equipment. And later, Reginald A. Fessenden made a coil transducer to generate underwater signals. After World War I, underwater sound technology was steadily advanced, and the field was solidified by World War II. Next, the inventions of the triode vacuum, the telephone and radio brought much interest to study of acoustics and sound. Bell Telephone Laboratories was a crucial developer of the modern telephone system in the United States. World War II paved the road for the many new discoveries in the area of sound and acoustics. After World War II, BBN Technologies was founded by Richard Henry Bolt, Leo L. Beranek, and Newman, leading scientists of the day. Some other major contributors to the field at this time were Phillip M. Morse, MIT, Karl Uno Ingard, R. Bruce Lindsay, Brown University, Robert T. Beyer, and Eugen Skudrzyk.3 In addition to these scientists, Karl D. Kryter researched the physiological effects of noise on humans (Raichel 9). And Carleen Hutchins combined the arts and sciences in her pursuit of the study of musical string instruments. Other

Raichel, Daniel R. The Science and Applications of Acoustics. New York: Springer Science+Business Media, 2006. Print.

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musical physicists that made notable contributions were Karl H. Steson, and Lothar Cremer.4 Now in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the study of sound has evolved into the more specialized field of acoustics. The pace of the study of acoustics in rapidly increasing, and the field is continually growing. According to Daniel R. Raichels book, It can truly be now said that the U.S. Navy has done more (and is still doing more) than any other institution to further acoustics research at its widespread facilities, including Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) (Raichel 10). So, the Navy has been a major contributor to the field. Some of the latest contributions to the field of acoustics are from Robert J. Bobber in underwater elctroacoustics, Sam Haniahs in acoustics radiation, David Taylor and Murray Strausberg in cavitation and hyrdoacoustics, David Feit in structural acoustics, William K. Blake in aero-hyrdoacoustics, Herman Medwin in acoustical oceanography, and Robert Joseph Urick in sonar and underwater acoustics.5 Now, the study of acoustics has brought the invention of surround sound, digital processors, and music synthesizer circuit boards for personal computers, along with many new technologies for the medical field, surveillance, and manufacturing. Many of these things we may be oblivious to, but it is obvious that

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Raichel, Daniel R. The Science and Applications of Acoustics. New York: Springer Science+Business Media, 2006. Print.

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these researchers have done much very important work that affect even our daily lives.

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Bibliography Kock, Winston E. Sound Waves and Light Waves,. Garden City, NY: Anchor, 1965. Print. Raichel, Daniel R. The Science and Applications of Acoustics. New York: Springer Science+Business Media, 2006. Print. Spradley, Joseph L. Visions That Shaped the Universe: A History of Scientific Ideas about the Universe. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Pub., 1995. Print.

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