Question

In: Physics

Is there any reason to believe that any measure of loudness (e.g. sound pressure) might have...

Is there any reason to believe that any measure of loudness (e.g. sound pressure) might have an upper boundary, similar to upper limit (c) of the speed of mass?

Solutions

Expert Solution

Let's talk about the sound waves in the air first. Physically they are longitudinal waves of pressure. The bunch of air in one place will get compressed (in comparison with equilibrium state) and after that will expand, compressing the adjacent air and so on the wave propagates. These (single frequency) waves are essentially described by three numbers: the speed of propagation (called speed of sound; it depends on the type of the material and the temperature), the frequency of oscillation (determining the pitch), and the amplitude of oscillation.

It is the amplitude of oscillations which determines the loudness. So you are essentially asking whether there is any limit on amplitude of compression. Well, of course. At high enough pressures, the air would freeze even at normal temperatures. So this is the limit for air. Similar thing would happen with liquids: at certain pressures they would condense into solids. You could continue with phases of matter in this way and applying higher and higher pressures you would eventually end up with a black hole. That would be an ultimate limit.

But of course, in reality the limit is set by our engineering capabilities and I doubt it's possible to create sound waves that would be able to freeze air.


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