ACOUSTICS

ACOUSTICS
a general term used for the
science of sound that includes the
study of its generation of
production, its transmission or
propagation and effects
(reflection, reverberation and
interference). For rooms, those
factors that determine its
characterizer with respect to the
quality of the received sound.
 Architectural
Acoustics
a special branch of that
science, deals with the
construction of enclosed
areas so as to enhance the
hearing of speech or music.
History
 Marcus Pollio
a Roman architect, who
lived during the 1st century
BC, made some pertinent
observations on the subject
and some astute guesses
concerning reverberation
and interference.
 Joseph Henry
an American physicist, first
treated thoroughly the
scientific aspects of
acoustics in 1856
Wallace Sabine
another American physicist,
developed more fully the
subject acoustics in 1900
 Sound
Generation

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Types of Wave Motion
 Longitudinal
waves

such as water or sound

waves are a periodic
disturbance of the medium
through which they travel.
For example, air is
compressed and expanded
in the same direction that a
sound wave travels.
 Transverse
waves
such as light and radio waves
in which the medium is
displaced perpendicular to the
direction of travel. Ripples on
the surface of a pond are an
example of a transverse wave:
the water is displaced
vertically, while the wave itself
travels horizontally.
SOUND
 Sound categories

1. music

2. noise

3. speech (most obvious

conveyor of information)
 The human ear

Ear is the organ of hearing and

balance. Only vertebrates, or
animals with backbones, have
ears. Invertebrate animals, such
as jellyfish and insects, lack
ears, but have other structures
or organs that serve similar
functions. The most complex
and highly developed ears are
those of mammals.
Note: In humans, hearing takes
place whenever vibrations of
frequencies from 20 Hz to about
20,000 Hz reach the inner ear.
Sounds with frequencies lower
than that audible are called
subsonic or infrasonic and those
with frequencies higher than 20
kHz are called ultrasonic.
Supersonic refers to velocity
greater than sound velocity (330
m/s).
10 octaves in human
hearing range: LOWER MIDRANGE

5th octave (320Hz - 640Hz)

LOWER BASS
6th octave (640Hz - 1280Hz)
1st octave (20Hz - 40Hz)
7th octave (1280Hz - 2560Hz)
2nd octave (40Hz - 80Hz)

UPPER MIDRANGE

UPPER BASS 8th octave (2560Hz - 5120Hz)

3rd octave (80Hz - 160Hz) TREBLE

4th octave (160Hz - 320Hz) 9th octave (5120Hz - 10240Hz)

10th octave (10240Hz - 20480Hz)

 Octave
interval between any two frequencies that have a tonal ratio of 2
to 1. A pitch interval of 2:1. The tone whose frequency is twice
that of the given tone

Notes:

Typical speech power :

10 to 1000 uW

Maximum intelligibility for

voice : 1000 and 3000 Hz

Maximum voice energy :

250 and 500 Hz
 Characteristics or
attributes of sound waves
 Pitch

Pitch - that attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which

sound may be ordered on a scale related primarily to
frequency.

Mel - a unit of pitch. The pitch of any sound judged

by listeners to be n times that of a mel tone is n mels.
1000 mels is the pitch of a 1000 Hz tone at a
sensation level of 40 dB
 Loudness
Loudness - an observer’s auditory impression of the strength of
a sound

Loudness level - is measured by the sound pressure level

of a standard pure tone of specified frequency which is
assessed by normal observers as being equally loud.

Phon - the unit of loudness level when:

a) the standard pure tone is produced by a sensibly plane

sinusoidal progressive sound wave coming from directly
in front of the observer and having a frequency of 1000
Hz.

b) the sound pressure level in the free progressive wave is

expressed in dB above 2 x 10-5 N/m2 or 20uPa
Sone - the unit of loudness on a scale designed to
give scale numbers approximately proportional to
the loudness. For practical purposes, the scale is
precisely defined by its relation to the phon scale
being given by the formula:

Phon = 40 + 10log2 (sone)

Timbre (tone color)

characteristic tonal quality of sound Pure tone - a sound in

which the sound pressure varies sinusoidally with time.
The waveform may be represented by a sine wave.
 Tempo

speed of a sound (fast or

slow tempos)
 Rhythm

relates to a sonic time

pattern, maybe simple,
constant, complex or
changing
 Attack

the way a sound begins

(can be hard, soft, crisp or
gradual)
 Duration

refers to how long a sound

blasts (short or sustained
sounds)
 Decay

how fast a sound fades

from a certain loudness
(can be quick, gradual or
slow)
Apparent loudness and
loudness levels
Notes:
0-15 dB -very faint
0 dB - threshold of hearing
60 dB - average conversation
15-30 dB - faint 120 dB - threshold of pain
150 dB - permanent damage to hearing
30-60 dB - moderate

60-80 dB - loud

80-130 dB - very loud

130 dB - deafening
Sound Pressure Levels of common sound sources

Source SPL (dB)

Faintest audible sound 0
Whisper 20
Quiet residence 30
Soft stereo in residence 40
Speech range 50-70
Cafeteria 80
Pneumatic jack hammer 90
Loud crowd noise 100
Accelerating motorcycle 100
Rock concert 120
Jet engine (75 feet away) 140