Detecting Sound

How Our Ears Detect Sound

"Sound waves are detected by the fact that the waves can cause objects to vibrate. The vibrations from the sound waves must be converted into a signal and then amplified and processed. Your ear and a microphone are common detectors of sound."

"Just as a vibrating object creates sound, thus forming compression waves in air or some other medium, sound is also detected by the waves causing a back-and-forth vibration of some object in its path."

"What is happening is that the sound in traveling from the air into the object, just like you can hear sound going through the walls or windows in your house."

"Since the vibrations are so small in most situations, you cannot tell that the object is actually vibrating. However, you can feel how sound can cause other things to vibrate by standing in front of some loudspeakers when music is being played very loud. You can actually feel the vibration on your skin and chest."

"Loud sounds in a room can cause the windows and even walls to vibrate noticeably at the frequency of the waveform."

"Sound waves can cause some objects to vibrate, allowing for detection of the sound. The vibrations from the sound waves must be converted into a signal—usually an electrical signal—and then amplified and processed. Your ear and a microphone are common detectors of sound."

According to the website: http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/sound_detection.htm

Our ears transform and change sound waves into electrical signals that allow us to hear. The outer ear collects and receives sound waves. The vibration then travel to the middle of your ear. very tiny organs increase and largen the size of the vibrations. These vibrations are picked up by organs in our inner ear. Our inner ear changes vibrations into electrical signals that our brain interprets and receives as a sound.

Ryann Cornelius