Introduction to sound review

Sound waves are longitudinal waves in a medium such as air. The molecules in the medium vibrate back and forth from their equilibrium position. This leads to the molecules being compressed in some parts of the wave, which results in variations in pressure in a predictable pattern. For example, when a musician blows into a tube such as a flute, the sound produced comes from waves that travel along the length of the tube.

Just like other waves, the energy of sound waves increases with the wave amplitude. The loudness or volume of the sound also increases with wave amplitude.

In open and closed tubes, sounds waves can exist as standing waves as long as there is at least one node.

In an open tube, the medium (ex. air) at the open ends vibrates horizontally parallel to the tube length. This means the standing wave has displacement antinodes at the ends of the tube for all harmonics, and a node in the middle for the fundamental.

The simplest standing wave in an open tube is the fundamental, which has $2$2 antinodes and $1$1 node. Thus, there is half of a wavelength between the antinodes. For an open tube with length $L$L, the wavelength $\lambda$lambda of the standing wave that corresponds with the fundamental frequency is:

Where the fundamental frequency is:

Standing waves with any integer multiple of the fundamental frequency can fit in an open tube.

Another way to think about standing waves in open tubes is by instead considering how the air pressure varies along the length of the tube. For open tubes, the air pressure at the ends equalizes with the atmosphere. Thus, the pressure stays constant at the open ends and they are pressure nodes.

The air molecules are not free to vibrate back and forth parallel to the tube, so the displacement standing wave has is a node at the closed end. The open end of the tube is always an antinode since the air molecules can vibrate horizontally parallel to the length of the tube.

The simplest standing wave case in a closed tube has $1$1 antinode and $1$1 node. Thus, there is one quarter of a wavelength between the antinodes.For a closed tube with length $L$L, the standing wave that corresponds with the fundamental frequency is:

The fundamental frequency is:

For closed tubes, we can have only odd-numbered harmonics. That’s because closed tubes by definition have a node at one end and antinode at the other, so there’s no way for even-numbered frequencies to be present.

We can also think about standing waves in closed tubes in terms of the air pressure along the length of the tube. For closed tubes, the air pressure at the closed end varies since it does not need to equalize with the atmosphere. The pressure at the open end is constant, so the pressure wave has a node at the open end and an antinode at the closed end.

Sometimes people forget that sound waves require a medium. Sound waves can’t travel through a vacuum (empty space) because there are no air molecules to vibrate and cause pressure variations.

For deeper explanations of sound waves, see our videos:

To check your understanding and work toward mastering these concepts, check out our exercises: