In: Physics
When a sound wave travels directly toward a hard wall, the incoming and reflected waves can combine to produce a standing wave. There is an antinode right at the wall, just as at the end of a closed tube, so the sound near the wall is loud. You are standing beside a brick wall listening to a 80Hz tone from a distant loudspeaker.
How far from the wall must you move to find the first quiet spot? Assume a sound speed of 340 m/s.
The frequency of the wave in a pipe closed at one end is, \(f=\frac{v}{4 L}\)
The length of the pipe is, \(\begin{aligned} L &=\frac{v}{4 f} \\ &=\frac{340 \mathrm{~m} / \mathrm{s}}{4(80 \mathrm{~Hz})} \\ &=1.06 \mathrm{~m} \end{aligned}\)