ECHO

ECHO

Sound bounces off a solid or a liquid like a rubber ball bounces off a wall. Like light, sound gets reflected at the surface of a solid or liquid and follows the same laws of reflection as you have studied in earlier classes. The directions in which the sound is incident and is reflected make equal angles with the normal to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence, and the three are in the same plane. An obstacle of large size which may be polished or rough is needed for the reflection of sound waves.

Activity 12.5:

*  Take two identical pipes, as shown in Fig. 12.11. You can make the pipes using chart paper. The length of the pipes should be sufficiently long as shown.

*  Arrange them on a table near a wall. Keep a clock near the open end of one of the pipes and try to hear the sound of the clock through the other pipe.

*  Adjust the position of the pipes so that you can best hear the sound of the clock.

*  Now, measure the angles of incidence and reflection and see the relationship between the angles.

*  Lift the pipe on the  right vertically to a small height and observe what happens.

(In place of a clock, a mobile phone on vibrating mode may also be used.)

Figure 12.11: Reflection of sound

If we shout or clap near a suitable reflecting object such as a tall building or a mountain, we will hear the same sound again a little later. This sound which we hear is called an echo. The sensation of sound persists in our brain for about 0.1 s. To hear a distinct echo the time interval between the original sound and the reflected one must be at least 0.1s. If we take the speed of sound to be 344 m/s at a given temperature, say at 22 ºC in air, the sound must go to the obstacle and reach back the ear of the listener on reflection after 0.1s. Hence, the total distance covered by the sound from the point of generation to the reflecting surface and back should be at least (344 m/s)\(\times\)0.1 s = 34.4 m. Thus, for hearing distinct echoes, the minimum distance of the obstacle from the source of sound must be half of this distance, that is, 17.2 m. This distance will change with the temperature of air. Echoes may be heard more than once due to successive or multiple reflections. The rolling of thunder is due to the successive reflections of the sound from a number of reflecting surfaces, such as the clouds and the land.

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK

REVERBERATION

REVERBERATION

A sound created in a big hall will persist by repeated reflection from the walls until it is reduced to a value where it is no longer audible. The repeated reflection that results in this persistence of sound is called reverberation. In an auditorium or big hall excessive reverberation is highly undesirable. To reduce reverberation, the roof and walls of the auditorium are generally covered with sound absorbent materials like compressed fibreboard, rough plaster or draperies. The seat materials are also selected on the basis of their sound absorbing properties.

Illustration 12.2:

A person clapped his hands near a cliff and heard the echo after 2 s. What is the distance of the cliff from the person if the speed of the sound, v is taken as 346 ms^–1?

Sol:

Given,

Speed of sound, v = 346 ms^–1

Time taken for hearing the echo, t = 2 s

Distance travelled by the sound

= v \(\times\) t = 346 ms^–1\(\times\) 2 s = 692 m

In 2 s sound has to travel twice the distance between the cliff and the person.

Hence, the distance between the cliff and the person = (692 m)/2 = 346 m

Questions

An echo is heard in 3 s. What is the distance of the reflecting surface from the source, given that the speed of sound is 342 ms^–1?

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK

USES OF MULTIPLE REFLECTION OF SOUND

USES OF MULTIPLE REFLECTION OF SOUND

1.  Megaphones or loudhailers, horns, musical instruments such as trumpets and shehanais, are all designed to send sound in a particular direction without spreading it in all directions, as shown in Fig 12.12.

Figure 12.12: A megaphone and a horn

In these instruments, a tube followed by a conical opening reflects sound successively to guide most of the sound waves from the source in the forward direction towards the audience.

2.  Stethoscope is a medical instrument used for listening to sounds produced within the body, mainly in the heart or lungs. In stethoscopes the sound of the patient’s heartbeat reaches the doctor’s ears by multiple reflection of sound, as shown in Fig.12.13.

Figure 12.13: Stethoscope  

3.  Generally the ceilings of concert halls, conference halls and cinema halls are curved so that sound after reflection reaches all corners of the hall, as shown in Fig 12.14.

Figure 12.14: Curved ceiling of a conference hall.

Sometimes a curved soundboard may be placed behind the stage so that the sound, after reflecting from the sound board, spreads evenly across the width of the hall (Fig 12.15).

Figure 12.15: Sound board used in a big hall

Questions

Why are the ceilings of concert halls curved?

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK