How do visible light waves differ from sound waves

Loudness is measured in terms of decibels dB , a logarithmic unit of sound intensity. A typical conversation would correlate with 60 dB; a rock concert might check in at dB [link].

A whisper 5 feet away or rustling leaves are at the low end of our hearing range; sounds like a window air conditioner, a normal conversation, and even heavy traffic or a vacuum cleaner are within a tolerable range.

However, there is the potential for hearing damage from about 80 dB to dB: These are sounds of a food processor, power lawnmower, heavy truck 25 feet away , subway train 20 feet away , live rock music, and a jackhammer. The threshold for pain is about dB, a jet plane taking off or a revolver firing at close range Dunkle, This figure illustrates the loudness of common sounds.

Although wave amplitude is generally associated with loudness, there is some interaction between frequency and amplitude in our perception of loudness within the audible range.

For example, a 10 Hz sound wave is inaudible no matter the amplitude of the wave. A Hz sound wave, on the other hand, would vary dramatically in terms of perceived loudness as the amplitude of the wave increased. Watch this brief video demonstrating how frequency and amplitude interact in our perception of loudness.

Of course, different musical instruments can play the same musical note at the same level of loudness, yet they still sound quite different. This is known as the timbre of a sound. Watch this video that provides additional information on sound waves. Both light and sound can be described in terms of wave forms with physical characteristics like amplitude, wavelength, and timbre. Wavelength and frequency are inversely related so that longer waves have lower frequencies, and shorter waves have higher frequencies.

Why do you think other species have such different ranges of sensitivity for both visual and auditory stimuli compared to humans? Why do you think humans are especially sensitive to sounds with frequencies that fall in the middle portion of the audible range?

How would you explain this to a friend who never had the opportunity to take a class like this? Other species have evolved to best suit their particular environmental niches. For example, the honeybee relies on flowering plants for survival.

Seeing in the ultraviolet light might prove especially helpful when locating flowers. According to physics, sound is a vibration that propagates a wave, and this wave transmits through mediums like gas, liquid or solid. Sound waves travel faster in the solid states, such as through iron, steel, and stone. In the air, metres per second is the travel speed of the sound waves.

Sound waves can be divided into two categories — compression and rarefaction. In compression molecules of sound waves are compressed together. And on the other hand, in rarefaction, the sound wave molecules are not compressed together, instead, they stay apart.

Sound waves are called mechanical waves. Sound waves travel through air and water effortlessly, but they are incapable of travelling through a vacuum. Sound waves need a medium to travel. And a vacuum is the condition where no air is available.

It has no matter. So in a vacuum, the sound will not be eligible to travel. This is the reason for which the astronauts are not able to hear each other or talk to each other in space without the help of a radio.

Light is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This radiation is given to us by stars like the sun in the case of the earth. Similarly to all types of electromagnetic radiation, the light is visible and propagates as waves. Due to its electromagnetic waves, these are subjected to be seen by human and animal eyes. Christian Huygens suggested that light is able to travel as waves. They oscillate in place by standing and sitting while the wave itself travels around the stadium.

Waves have wavelength, amplitude and frequency associated with them. The wavelength is the distance between successive wave peaks. The amplitude is the maximum displacement of the medium from equilibrium. The frequency is the number of wavelengths passing by a point per second.

Waves can be transverse or longitudinal. In a transverse wave, the medium oscillates perpendicularly to the direction of propagation. In a longitudinal wave, the medium oscillates along the same direction as propagation. Sound is an example of a longitudinal wave. When a sound travels through a medium, such as air, it causes compressions regions of increased density and rarefactions regions of decreased density in the air as it travels.

Sound waves are created by oscillations — either from your vocal chords, a tuning fork, musical instruments or a pile of dishes crashing to the floor. A struck tuning fork, for example, vibrates at a specific frequency.