Particle displacement or displacement amplitude is a
measurement of
distance
Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...
of the movement of a
sound particle from its
equilibrium position in a medium as it transmits a sound wave.
The
SI unit
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes Pleonasm#Acronyms and initialisms, pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most wid ...
of particle displacement is the
metre
The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its p ...
(m). In most cases this is a
longitudinal wave
Longitudinal waves are waves in which the vibration of the medium is parallel ("along") to the direction the wave travels and displacement of the medium is in the same (or opposite) direction of the wave propagation. Mechanical longitudinal wa ...
of pressure (such as
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...
), but it can also be a
transverse wave
In physics, a transverse wave is a wave whose oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of the wave's advance. This is in contrast to a longitudinal wave which travels in the direction of its oscillations. Water waves are an example of ...
, such as the
vibration
Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum—or random, suc ...
of a taut string. In the case of a
sound wave travelling through
air, the particle displacement is evident in the
oscillation
Oscillation is the repetitive or Periodic function, periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of Mechanical equilibrium, equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples o ...
s of air
molecule
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bio ...
s with, and against, the direction in which the sound wave is travelling.
A particle of the medium undergoes displacement according to the
particle velocity of the sound wave traveling through the medium, while the sound wave itself moves at the
speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. At , the speed of sound in air is about , or one kilometre in or one mile in . It depends strongly on temperature as ...
, equal to in air at .
Mathematical definition
Particle displacement, denoted
δ, is given by
[
]
:
where v is the
particle velocity.
Progressive sine waves
The particle displacement of a ''progressive
sine wave
A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or just sinusoid is a mathematical curve defined in terms of the '' sine'' trigonometric function, of which it is the graph. It is a type of continuous wave and also a smooth periodic function. It occurs often in ...
'' is given by
:
where
*
is the
amplitude
The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of a ...
of the particle displacement;
*
is the
phase shift of the particle displacement;
*
is the
angular wavevector;
*
is the
angular frequency
In physics, angular frequency "''ω''" (also referred to by the terms angular speed, circular frequency, orbital frequency, radian frequency, and pulsatance) is a scalar measure of rotation rate. It refers to the angular displacement per unit ti ...
.
It follows that the particle velocity and the sound pressure along the direction of propagation of the sound wave ''x'' are given by
:
:
where
*
is the amplitude of the particle velocity;
*
is the phase shift of the particle velocity;
*
is the amplitude of the acoustic pressure;
*
is the phase shift of the acoustic pressure.
Taking the Laplace transforms of ''v'' and ''p'' with respect to time yields
:
:
Since
, the amplitude of the specific acoustic impedance is given by
:
Consequently, the amplitude of the particle displacement is related to those of the particle velocity and the sound pressure by
:
:
See also
*
Sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...
*
Sound particle
*
Particle velocity
*
Particle acceleration
In a compressible sound transmission medium - mainly air - air particles get an accelerated motion: the particle acceleration or sound acceleration with the symbol a in metre/second2. In acoustics or physics, acceleration (symbol: ''a'') is de ...
References and notes
Related Reading:
*
*
*{{cite book , last = Barron , first = Randall F.
, title = Industrial noise control and acoustics
, publisher = CRC Press , date = January 2003
, location = NYC, New York , pages = 79, 82, 83, 87
, url =https://books.google.com/books?id=k1tXPl2hC-cC&q=instantaneous+particle+displacement&pg=PA82
, isbn =978-0-8247-0701-9
External links
Acoustic Particle-Image Velocimetry. Development and ApplicationsRelationships of Acoustic Quantities Associated with a Plane Progressive Acoustic Sound Wave
Acoustics
Sound
Sound measurements
Physical quantities