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Seeing sound travel.

Do air particles travel from a speaker to your ear?

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Sound and musical instruments

Seeing sound travel.

Do air particles travel from a speaker to your ear?

Setting up the mechanism…

Frequency: 440Hz
Wavelength in air: 0.780m

More

Air sound speed: 343m/s
Relative amplitude: 0.00×

Move the membrane off rest, then send a pulse.

Do air particles travel from a speaker to your ear?

A speaker membrane moves nearby air back and forth. The compression pattern travels outward, while individual air particles oscillate locally. Frequency sets pitch and wavelength; sound speed stays the same in the same air. A vacuum cannot carry sound.

Wavelength = sound speed / frequency

What this model simplifies

Sound speed 343 m/s in air; wavelength=343/frequency. Local particle displacements and carrier playback are enlarged/slowed. No sound propagation in vacuum. Audio, if enabled, requires a user gesture.

Read the source · openstax.org ↗

Put it to work.

Produce a travelling compression while air particles oscillate locally.

Make it work.

Compare sound wavelength at different pitches.

Run

Fine adjustments 1

Sound frequencyHz