Main content
Course: Exploratorium > Unit 1
Lesson 1: Sound IntroductionSound Introduction
Most of us spend our days surrounded by noises of every imaginable origin—the trill of a bird, the thump of a neighbor’s stereo, the blast of a train whistle.
Pleasing or not, all of these sounds carry important information about the world around us.
Our elegantly designed ears and brain capture and transform vibrating waves of air into the sounds we hear.
Try the ear-tingling activities in this section to unlock the secrets of sound, explore hearing and perception, and have fun playing and making sounds in unusual ways. Get started by creating laser-light shows with your voice!
Want to join the conversation?
- what is sound?(3 votes)
- Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear. Sound is usually caused by an impact or by friction which makes that vibration.(16 votes)
- I heard some were . that after you hear a sound and can't hear it anymore it is still going around the room. is that true ?(2 votes)
- Sound is a wave. When you hear a sound, the wave has reached receptors in your ears that make sense of it based on its wavelength, amplitude and such. Its these qualities sound that enable us to distinguish different pitches and volumes. The wave will continue to travel even after it has reached your ears, however, it loses energy and stretches out to become longer which is why the remnants of sound may continue reverberating around the room without your notice.(3 votes)
- what is the ¨scientific answer¨ to
why cant a def person hear?(2 votes)- something Is blocking it or they have ear damage(0 votes)
- can you read about books on khan academy(1 vote)
- no, as of now you can't read about books on khan academy.(1 vote)
- The question i'd like to ask is, how can laser light waves be transfered by sound?(1 vote)
- I didn't know that was possible until I read your question, but I searched the internet and found a way to do so at home! Here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Transfer-Sound-on-a-Laser/(1 vote)
- if i go in space an start to scream, did someone hear me?(1 vote)
- there is no sound in space. It's a vacuum. there's nothing there to carry the sound.(1 vote)
- Can sound travel thru a person with out it slowing it stopping?(1 vote)
- if you damage your ear drum could you go deaf?(1 vote)
- Yes,you can go deaf if your ear drums are damaged enough. Think of it like eyes: if you poke yourself in the eye with one finger by accident,it'll hurt a lot,but not necessarily make you go blind,unless you poked it really really hard. If you stab someone in the eye and destroy their eye,they will go blind. (that is if they don't die)
Gummi Bear jr is... incorrect. You wouldn't be able to hear better,unless you then got extensive medical alterations done on your ears to make them more sensitive.(1 vote)
- How does hearing sounds work?(0 votes)
- your ear drum vibrates indicating the frequency of the wave and sending it to your brain(1 vote)