How does a sound wave propagate?












8












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So , Sound travels by vibration , but vibration is only a one dimensional motion. Left and right. So the air molecules only move towards the left or right. So the sound wave only propagates left or right. But what if we are perpendicular to the oscillation. How do we hear sound?






waves acoustics







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  • 2




    $begingroup$
    it is not that simple . see hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/sprop.html and links
    $endgroup$
    – anna v
    23 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    This website has some nice animations to show the three dimensional nature of longitudinal sound waves.
    $endgroup$
    – Farcher
    20 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Here's another pretty good explanation with animations, courtesy of the University of Southampton.
    $endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    17 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Consider thinking about it in polar coordinates, and the one dimension being r.
    $endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    9 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    @Farcher "Find a wide space and make shure there's nobody around you." Pun intended?
    $endgroup$
    – user170231
    6 hours ago
















8












$begingroup$


So , Sound travels by vibration , but vibration is only a one dimensional motion. Left and right. So the air molecules only move towards the left or right. So the sound wave only propagates left or right. But what if we are perpendicular to the oscillation. How do we hear sound?






waves acoustics







share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Sarvesh Thiruppathi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    it is not that simple . see hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/sprop.html and links
    $endgroup$
    – anna v
    23 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    This website has some nice animations to show the three dimensional nature of longitudinal sound waves.
    $endgroup$
    – Farcher
    20 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Here's another pretty good explanation with animations, courtesy of the University of Southampton.
    $endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    17 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Consider thinking about it in polar coordinates, and the one dimension being r.
    $endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    9 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    @Farcher "Find a wide space and make shure there's nobody around you." Pun intended?
    $endgroup$
    – user170231
    6 hours ago














8












8








8


2



$begingroup$


So , Sound travels by vibration , but vibration is only a one dimensional motion. Left and right. So the air molecules only move towards the left or right. So the sound wave only propagates left or right. But what if we are perpendicular to the oscillation. How do we hear sound?






waves acoustics







share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Sarvesh Thiruppathi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$




So , Sound travels by vibration , but vibration is only a one dimensional motion. Left and right. So the air molecules only move towards the left or right. So the sound wave only propagates left or right. But what if we are perpendicular to the oscillation. How do we hear sound?






waves acoustics




waves acoustics






share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Sarvesh Thiruppathi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|cite|improve this question









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share|cite|improve this question




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edited 22 hours ago









Qmechanic♦

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asked yesterday









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545




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  • 2




    $begingroup$
    it is not that simple . see hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/sprop.html and links
    $endgroup$
    – anna v
    23 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    This website has some nice animations to show the three dimensional nature of longitudinal sound waves.
    $endgroup$
    – Farcher
    20 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Here's another pretty good explanation with animations, courtesy of the University of Southampton.
    $endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    17 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Consider thinking about it in polar coordinates, and the one dimension being r.
    $endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    9 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    @Farcher "Find a wide space and make shure there's nobody around you." Pun intended?
    $endgroup$
    – user170231
    6 hours ago














  • 2




    $begingroup$
    it is not that simple . see hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/sprop.html and links
    $endgroup$
    – anna v
    23 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    This website has some nice animations to show the three dimensional nature of longitudinal sound waves.
    $endgroup$
    – Farcher
    20 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Here's another pretty good explanation with animations, courtesy of the University of Southampton.
    $endgroup$
    – Ilmari Karonen
    17 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Consider thinking about it in polar coordinates, and the one dimension being r.
    $endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    9 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    @Farcher "Find a wide space and make shure there's nobody around you." Pun intended?
    $endgroup$
    – user170231
    6 hours ago








2




2




$begingroup$
it is not that simple . see hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/sprop.html and links
$endgroup$
– anna v
23 hours ago




$begingroup$
it is not that simple . see hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/sprop.html and links
$endgroup$
– anna v
23 hours ago




2




2




$begingroup$
This website has some nice animations to show the three dimensional nature of longitudinal sound waves.
$endgroup$
– Farcher
20 hours ago




$begingroup$
This website has some nice animations to show the three dimensional nature of longitudinal sound waves.
$endgroup$
– Farcher
20 hours ago




2




2




$begingroup$
Here's another pretty good explanation with animations, courtesy of the University of Southampton.
$endgroup$
– Ilmari Karonen
17 hours ago




$begingroup$
Here's another pretty good explanation with animations, courtesy of the University of Southampton.
$endgroup$
– Ilmari Karonen
17 hours ago












$begingroup$
Consider thinking about it in polar coordinates, and the one dimension being r.
$endgroup$
– corsiKa
9 hours ago




$begingroup$
Consider thinking about it in polar coordinates, and the one dimension being r.
$endgroup$
– corsiKa
9 hours ago












$begingroup$
@Farcher "Find a wide space and make shure there's nobody around you." Pun intended?
$endgroup$
– user170231
6 hours ago




$begingroup$
@Farcher "Find a wide space and make shure there's nobody around you." Pun intended?
$endgroup$
– user170231
6 hours ago










5 Answers
5






active

oldest

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9












$begingroup$

Sound wave is not a transverse wave, as you thought. That means the vibration and the direction of propagation for sound wave are parallel. And the vibration is caused by difference in air pressure at different places. To the question "how I can listen to it" thats because the pressure difference propagates toward your ear and force your eardrum to vibrate.






share|cite|improve this answer








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user10842694 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • $begingroup$
    Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
    $endgroup$
    – peterh
    16 hours ago





















8












$begingroup$


vibration is only a one dimensional motion




This is not generally true. As a trivial example, one could the movements of water in a pond where a few small rocks have been tossed. The motion is definitely a wave behavior, and could even be called vibration, but it is most definitely not one dimensional.



Another potential example would be the vibrator on your phone, which vibrates in a circular manner.



But in the end, the key is that atoms in a sound wave don't vibrate "left and right." They are a longitudinal wave, in which particles move in the direction of the wave's motion and back.



So when something causes a sound, the waves propagate outward from the object creating the sound, as molecules of gas move away from the source and towards the source. This is typically a 3 dimensional pattern






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
    $endgroup$
    – Kyle
    20 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
    $endgroup$
    – dbmag9
    19 hours ago



















5












$begingroup$

Sound travels outwards from a source in all directions. The waves that are set in motion are spherical.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
    $endgroup$
    – amI
    20 hours ago



















4












$begingroup$

Re. from one of your comments: "But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre" and also this one: "But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop"



I think part of you confusion comes from this: Even with a longitudinal wave where the particle motion is parallel to the waves propagation direction, the particles do not travel with the wave. They only move back and forth along the direction of wave propagation. So the particles are not carried along with the wave. (It is obvious that this is true for a transverse wave.)



Referring to your original question, unless sound is focused into a beam it generally propagates equally in all directions. If it is focused into a beam and you were off to one side anything you hear would be due to sidelobes which are lower in amplitude than the main lobe and could be near zero.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$





















    2












    $begingroup$

    You could use an explosion as a metaphor. The shockwaves "push" the air around in a spherical pattern, which then gets "sucked" back due to the low pressure left behind.



    In a sense, soundwaves are just very slow and small shockwaves.



    This video shows it really well.






    share|cite|improve this answer








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    Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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    • $begingroup$
      +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
      $endgroup$
      – Kevin
      14 hours ago











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    5 Answers
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    active

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    5 Answers
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    9












    $begingroup$

    Sound wave is not a transverse wave, as you thought. That means the vibration and the direction of propagation for sound wave are parallel. And the vibration is caused by difference in air pressure at different places. To the question "how I can listen to it" thats because the pressure difference propagates toward your ear and force your eardrum to vibrate.






    share|cite|improve this answer








    New contributor




    user10842694 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.






    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago








    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
      $endgroup$
      – peterh
      16 hours ago


















    9












    $begingroup$

    Sound wave is not a transverse wave, as you thought. That means the vibration and the direction of propagation for sound wave are parallel. And the vibration is caused by difference in air pressure at different places. To the question "how I can listen to it" thats because the pressure difference propagates toward your ear and force your eardrum to vibrate.






    share|cite|improve this answer








    New contributor




    user10842694 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.






    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago








    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
      $endgroup$
      – peterh
      16 hours ago
















    9












    9








    9





    $begingroup$

    Sound wave is not a transverse wave, as you thought. That means the vibration and the direction of propagation for sound wave are parallel. And the vibration is caused by difference in air pressure at different places. To the question "how I can listen to it" thats because the pressure difference propagates toward your ear and force your eardrum to vibrate.






    share|cite|improve this answer








    New contributor




    user10842694 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.






    $endgroup$



    Sound wave is not a transverse wave, as you thought. That means the vibration and the direction of propagation for sound wave are parallel. And the vibration is caused by difference in air pressure at different places. To the question "how I can listen to it" thats because the pressure difference propagates toward your ear and force your eardrum to vibrate.







    share|cite|improve this answer








    New contributor




    user10842694 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.









    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer






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    answered 23 hours ago









    user10842694user10842694

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    • $begingroup$
      Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago








    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
      $endgroup$
      – peterh
      16 hours ago




















    • $begingroup$
      Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago








    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
      $endgroup$
      – peterh
      16 hours ago


















    $begingroup$
    Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago






    $begingroup$
    Hi, I would like to point out two things from your answer. I never said a sound is a transverse wave. Also can you provide a explanation of how the sound wave propagated towards us.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago






    2




    2




    $begingroup$
    Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
    $endgroup$
    – peterh
    16 hours ago






    $begingroup$
    Note, sound can be also a transverse wave, but only in solid materials (others don't have a shear stress). It has different properties than the longitudinal sound. This is how the internal properties of the Earth were discovered (liquid mantle, solid core). Also the electromagnetic and gravitational fields propagate as transverse waves.
    $endgroup$
    – peterh
    16 hours ago













    8












    $begingroup$


    vibration is only a one dimensional motion




    This is not generally true. As a trivial example, one could the movements of water in a pond where a few small rocks have been tossed. The motion is definitely a wave behavior, and could even be called vibration, but it is most definitely not one dimensional.



    Another potential example would be the vibrator on your phone, which vibrates in a circular manner.



    But in the end, the key is that atoms in a sound wave don't vibrate "left and right." They are a longitudinal wave, in which particles move in the direction of the wave's motion and back.



    So when something causes a sound, the waves propagate outward from the object creating the sound, as molecules of gas move away from the source and towards the source. This is typically a 3 dimensional pattern






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
      $endgroup$
      – Kyle
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
      $endgroup$
      – dbmag9
      19 hours ago
















    8












    $begingroup$


    vibration is only a one dimensional motion




    This is not generally true. As a trivial example, one could the movements of water in a pond where a few small rocks have been tossed. The motion is definitely a wave behavior, and could even be called vibration, but it is most definitely not one dimensional.



    Another potential example would be the vibrator on your phone, which vibrates in a circular manner.



    But in the end, the key is that atoms in a sound wave don't vibrate "left and right." They are a longitudinal wave, in which particles move in the direction of the wave's motion and back.



    So when something causes a sound, the waves propagate outward from the object creating the sound, as molecules of gas move away from the source and towards the source. This is typically a 3 dimensional pattern






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
      $endgroup$
      – Kyle
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
      $endgroup$
      – dbmag9
      19 hours ago














    8












    8








    8





    $begingroup$


    vibration is only a one dimensional motion




    This is not generally true. As a trivial example, one could the movements of water in a pond where a few small rocks have been tossed. The motion is definitely a wave behavior, and could even be called vibration, but it is most definitely not one dimensional.



    Another potential example would be the vibrator on your phone, which vibrates in a circular manner.



    But in the end, the key is that atoms in a sound wave don't vibrate "left and right." They are a longitudinal wave, in which particles move in the direction of the wave's motion and back.



    So when something causes a sound, the waves propagate outward from the object creating the sound, as molecules of gas move away from the source and towards the source. This is typically a 3 dimensional pattern






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$




    vibration is only a one dimensional motion




    This is not generally true. As a trivial example, one could the movements of water in a pond where a few small rocks have been tossed. The motion is definitely a wave behavior, and could even be called vibration, but it is most definitely not one dimensional.



    Another potential example would be the vibrator on your phone, which vibrates in a circular manner.



    But in the end, the key is that atoms in a sound wave don't vibrate "left and right." They are a longitudinal wave, in which particles move in the direction of the wave's motion and back.



    So when something causes a sound, the waves propagate outward from the object creating the sound, as molecules of gas move away from the source and towards the source. This is typically a 3 dimensional pattern







    share|cite|improve this answer












    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer










    answered 23 hours ago









    Cort AmmonCort Ammon

    23.5k34778




    23.5k34778












    • $begingroup$
      Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
      $endgroup$
      – Kyle
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
      $endgroup$
      – dbmag9
      19 hours ago


















    • $begingroup$
      Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
      $endgroup$
      – Kyle
      20 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
      $endgroup$
      – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
      20 hours ago






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
      $endgroup$
      – dbmag9
      19 hours ago
















    $begingroup$
    Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    Hi, Thanks for the answer , it was really helpful. I still have doubt in the last paragraph of your answer. Can you explain it with more details. Also I never said that sound wave is a transverse wave , by left and right i meant to - and - fro.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago












    $begingroup$
    Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    Also , by 3 dimensional pattern , you mean a spherical kind of pattern , right ? But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre.
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago




    1




    1




    $begingroup$
    @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
    $endgroup$
    – Kyle
    20 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    @SarveshThiruppathi In a sense, yes, as the particles move apart it creates a low pressure region, but this acts as the restoring force to bring them back together. These pressure variations are usually very small, though. For example, a typical conversation between 2 people generates pressure variations of about 2*10^-7 atmospheres.
    $endgroup$
    – Kyle
    20 hours ago












    $begingroup$
    But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop
    $endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Thiruppathi
    20 hours ago




    2




    2




    $begingroup$
    @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
    $endgroup$
    – dbmag9
    19 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    @SarveshThiruppathi If a sound wave is emitted for a long period of time, that means the source of the sound is vibrating for a long period of time. The wavelength would still be the same as if the same sound were emitted for a short period of time, so the vacuum you're imagining between waves wouldn't exist. What does make a difference is the volume (loudness) of the sound, which is why (roughly) there is a maximum possible volume which is reached when there is a vacuum between each wave.
    $endgroup$
    – dbmag9
    19 hours ago











    5












    $begingroup$

    Sound travels outwards from a source in all directions. The waves that are set in motion are spherical.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$









    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
      $endgroup$
      – amI
      20 hours ago
















    5












    $begingroup$

    Sound travels outwards from a source in all directions. The waves that are set in motion are spherical.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$









    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
      $endgroup$
      – amI
      20 hours ago














    5












    5








    5





    $begingroup$

    Sound travels outwards from a source in all directions. The waves that are set in motion are spherical.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$



    Sound travels outwards from a source in all directions. The waves that are set in motion are spherical.







    share|cite|improve this answer












    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer










    answered 23 hours ago









    niels nielsenniels nielsen

    20.3k53061




    20.3k53061








    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
      $endgroup$
      – amI
      20 hours ago














    • 2




      $begingroup$
      Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
      $endgroup$
      – amI
      20 hours ago








    2




    2




    $begingroup$
    Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
    $endgroup$
    – amI
    20 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    Yes -- even though a 'speaker' may push air molecules in a certain direction, this just creates a volume of higher pressure air, which then expands in all directions.
    $endgroup$
    – amI
    20 hours ago











    4












    $begingroup$

    Re. from one of your comments: "But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre" and also this one: "But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop"



    I think part of you confusion comes from this: Even with a longitudinal wave where the particle motion is parallel to the waves propagation direction, the particles do not travel with the wave. They only move back and forth along the direction of wave propagation. So the particles are not carried along with the wave. (It is obvious that this is true for a transverse wave.)



    Referring to your original question, unless sound is focused into a beam it generally propagates equally in all directions. If it is focused into a beam and you were off to one side anything you hear would be due to sidelobes which are lower in amplitude than the main lobe and could be near zero.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$


















      4












      $begingroup$

      Re. from one of your comments: "But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre" and also this one: "But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop"



      I think part of you confusion comes from this: Even with a longitudinal wave where the particle motion is parallel to the waves propagation direction, the particles do not travel with the wave. They only move back and forth along the direction of wave propagation. So the particles are not carried along with the wave. (It is obvious that this is true for a transverse wave.)



      Referring to your original question, unless sound is focused into a beam it generally propagates equally in all directions. If it is focused into a beam and you were off to one side anything you hear would be due to sidelobes which are lower in amplitude than the main lobe and could be near zero.






      share|cite|improve this answer









      $endgroup$
















        4












        4








        4





        $begingroup$

        Re. from one of your comments: "But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre" and also this one: "But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop"



        I think part of you confusion comes from this: Even with a longitudinal wave where the particle motion is parallel to the waves propagation direction, the particles do not travel with the wave. They only move back and forth along the direction of wave propagation. So the particles are not carried along with the wave. (It is obvious that this is true for a transverse wave.)



        Referring to your original question, unless sound is focused into a beam it generally propagates equally in all directions. If it is focused into a beam and you were off to one side anything you hear would be due to sidelobes which are lower in amplitude than the main lobe and could be near zero.






        share|cite|improve this answer









        $endgroup$



        Re. from one of your comments: "But when the air molecule from the centre keeps moving away ,won't there be a vacuum created at the centre" and also this one: "But if the sound wave is emitted for long periods, wouldn't there be a complete vacuum and the sound wave would stop"



        I think part of you confusion comes from this: Even with a longitudinal wave where the particle motion is parallel to the waves propagation direction, the particles do not travel with the wave. They only move back and forth along the direction of wave propagation. So the particles are not carried along with the wave. (It is obvious that this is true for a transverse wave.)



        Referring to your original question, unless sound is focused into a beam it generally propagates equally in all directions. If it is focused into a beam and you were off to one side anything you hear would be due to sidelobes which are lower in amplitude than the main lobe and could be near zero.







        share|cite|improve this answer












        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer










        answered 11 hours ago









        user45664user45664

        1,2802825




        1,2802825























            2












            $begingroup$

            You could use an explosion as a metaphor. The shockwaves "push" the air around in a spherical pattern, which then gets "sucked" back due to the low pressure left behind.



            In a sense, soundwaves are just very slow and small shockwaves.



            This video shows it really well.






            share|cite|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
              $endgroup$
              – Kevin
              14 hours ago
















            2












            $begingroup$

            You could use an explosion as a metaphor. The shockwaves "push" the air around in a spherical pattern, which then gets "sucked" back due to the low pressure left behind.



            In a sense, soundwaves are just very slow and small shockwaves.



            This video shows it really well.






            share|cite|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
              $endgroup$
              – Kevin
              14 hours ago














            2












            2








            2





            $begingroup$

            You could use an explosion as a metaphor. The shockwaves "push" the air around in a spherical pattern, which then gets "sucked" back due to the low pressure left behind.



            In a sense, soundwaves are just very slow and small shockwaves.



            This video shows it really well.






            share|cite|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$



            You could use an explosion as a metaphor. The shockwaves "push" the air around in a spherical pattern, which then gets "sucked" back due to the low pressure left behind.



            In a sense, soundwaves are just very slow and small shockwaves.



            This video shows it really well.







            share|cite|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer






            New contributor




            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            answered 15 hours ago









            DanielDaniel

            211




            211




            New contributor




            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





            New contributor





            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            Daniel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.












            • $begingroup$
              +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
              $endgroup$
              – Kevin
              14 hours ago


















            • $begingroup$
              +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
              $endgroup$
              – Kevin
              14 hours ago
















            $begingroup$
            +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
            $endgroup$
            – Kevin
            14 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            +1 - was going to post an answer explaining it via explosion. But... you might consider taking out "just very slow and small shockwaves" and replacing it with, "smaller, and usually either repeated or patterned shockwaves - a musical note is just small shockwaves in a specific timing pattern." or similar.
            $endgroup$
            – Kevin
            14 hours ago










            Sarvesh Thiruppathi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










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