Compare and Contrast Light and Sound Waves

Compare and contrast light and sound waves Compare and contrast light and sound waves in an essay of 1500 words, double spaced, in standard fonts, and provide credible references in the APA format. Compare and contrast light and sound waves Abstract Sound and light are exist in the form of waves. The waves of sound are called longitudinal waves which can compress and refract. It travels in the form of vibrations whereas the waves of light are transverse. Sound can travel through solid liquid and gas but it also needs a medium for its travel. It cannot pass through the vacuum Light waves does not need any medium for its travel it can even through the space. Light waves are form of particles called photon. Compare and contrast light and sound waves Sound is form of waves that is made up of vibration in the air. Whenever sound is produce in anything its vibration would transfer in the air molecules and through chain reaction transmitted to the ear drum then these sound waves are transfer to brain which interprets the sound. So we are able to hear sound of different objects. Sound need medium for its transmission in space as there is no medium so no sound could be here in space. Sound waves can travel through the solid liquid and gas. Types of sound waves: As we know that the sound waves are called vibration waves. These waves contain energy that transfer from one place to another. For instances yours vocal cord produce sound it has energy as mentioned above it transfer to the air molecules in surrounding also vibrate them. Then it transfer to the ear drum and also transfer it to the ear drum and make it to vibrate then after the brain’ s interpretation we are able to hear the sound. There are two types of such a waves transverse and longitudinal waves. Longitudinal waves: Compare and contrast light and sound waves These waves are parallel to the vibrations. A Slinky can help us understand this, because a longitudinal wave can be created by pushing a Slinky along its length, sending a pulse across it. Transverse Waves: These waves are at the right angle to the vibrations. Characteristic of sound waves: Sound waves some features like compression and refraction. A compression is high density part of waves the figure below show the slinky which is compress at some point which show the compression waves. At this point these waves are very close to each other. On the other hand where there is distance between the waves is more is called refraction waves. These are low density waves. Compare and contrast light and sound waves Speed of sound: Sound waves can travel all the three states of matter (solid liquid and gas). As we know in the solid the molecules are very close to each other so they get more chances to vibrate as compare to the liquid and gas ( due to more distance among the molecules). That’s the reason speed of sound is fastest in the solid as compare to other sates of matter. Temperature and sound: There are many factors which affects the speed of sound. One of them is the temperature, as the temperature increases it would increase the kinetic energy of the molecules which provide them more chance of collision. Thus the more frequent collision increases the speed of sound. Loudness of sound: Loudness is the human perception that how much energy carries a sound waves, because all the sound does not carry equal amount of energy. Our ear can hear the sound between the 3,000 Hz to 4,000 Hz that is much louder sound. Amplitude of sound waves: The amount of energy a wave carries depends on its amplitude. In the case compression waves we would see how much particles are close together (How much energy molecules get to come close them). In case of refraction it would observe how much distance is between the particles of substance. If the particles are closer and more apart from each other at the refraction state its means its amplitude is more. Pitch and Frequency of sound; Compare and contrast light and sound waves How loud or low is the sound is called pitch of the sound. For instances the pitch of female child is high as compare to male child. The pitch is directly proportional to the frequency of the sound. The higher the pitch is, the higher the frequency is. A sound wave with a frequency of 440 Hz, for example, has a higher pitch than a sound wave with a frequency of 220 Hz. Echoes: The reflection of sound waves from any hard surface is called Echoes. If the distance between you and reflecting surface is great you might hear the echo. Because it would few second to come back. Sonar systems use sound waves to map objects underwater; the amount of time it takes an echo to return depends on how far away the reflecting surface is. By measuring the length of time between emitting a pulse of sound and hearing its echo off the ocean floor, the distance to the ocean floor can be measured. Some animal use this method to find any obstacle in their flight. Light Waves: As we discuss above the sound waves which are vibration waves which can compress and refract as well. Now we will discuss about the light waves, those are electromagnetic waves. It is also called visible light which has visible spectrum that is visible to the human eyes. Visible light has wavelength within the range of 400-700 nanometer. Photon: According to Albert Einstein light is made up of small particles called photon of energy. Electromagnetic Radiations: Electromagnetic waves also carry the energy that travel through the space. This heat from the burning fire like sun is use for different activities of life like in Compare and contrast light and sound waves photosynthesis and cooking in the form of microwaves and also doctors use it in the form of Xrays. Nature of light waves: The light waves are somewhat different from the other waves as these are two oscillating wave perpendicular to each other one wave is oscillating electric field and other waves is magnetic field as shown in the diagram: Amplitude wave length and frequency: As it is mentioned above in sound waves section that wave crest and trough. The vertical distance between the tip of a crest and central axis is known as its amplitude .This is particularly associated with the brightness and intensity of light waves. The horizontal distance between the two trough and crest is its wavelength. These also oscillate in its position this oscillation is called the frequency of light waves. Wave’s frequency refers to the number of full wavelengths that pass by a given point in space every second; the SI unit for frequency is Hertz (Hz). Compare and contrast light and sound waves Comparison between sound and light waves: Speed/Velocity of both waves Compare and contrast light and sound waves There are some similarities and difference between the both types of waves. The main difference the speed/velocity of both types of waves. The sound waves travel in air with the speed of 1100 feet per second. But the light waves travel in the air with the speed of 186000 per second. This difference is due to the fact that sound composed of longitudinal waves (compression and refraction. On the other hand light waves are transverse in nature in the magnetic field Need of medium: Sound waves can travel through the solid liquid and gas. It needs a medium for it travels. Sound wave can’t travel without medium like space. Contrary to sound waves light waves can travel without medium like light coming from the sun can travel through the space. In the denser medium speed of sound is greater. The case is opposite in the light waves Light travels approximately one-third slower in water than in air. Sound travels through all substances, Light cannot pass through the thick material like opaque. Frequency: There is great effect of frequency on the sound waves. The sensation of sound could produce at the certain range. Slow vibration would produce low sound/tone high frequency would produce high sound. Similarly, a certain range of light frequencies produces sensations that we can observe that that frequency of violet light is higher so it is visible and produce at the end of spectrum. Whereas red light has low frequency produce at end of spectrum. Conclusion Sound and light both are the in the form of waves. Both have wavelength crest and trough and frequency and amplitude. These characteristic are common in the both type of wave (Light and Compare and contrast light and sound waves sound). Sound waves need medium for its travel. It can travel through solid liquid and gas. It speed is greater in the solid where the molecules are very close to each other. Sound wave can’t travel in the vacuum because it does not have a medium. The sound waves also depend on the frequency of wave where the frequency is greater the sound is higher. Light waves do not need any medium for its travel. It can even travel through the space. Light is form of part small particles s called photon? It also has characteristic like frequency wavelength amplitude etc. light cannot pass through the opaque object like book and other thick material, but sound can travel through it. The speed of light is greater than the speed of sound.