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For waves on a string, or in a medium such as water, the amplitude is a displacement. The amplitude of sound waves and audio signals (which relates to the volume) conventionally refers to the amplitude of the air pressure in the wave, but sometimes the amplitude of the displacement (movements of the air or the diaphragm of a speaker) is described.
Amplitude is the size (magnitude) of the pressure variations in a sound wave, and primarily determines the loudness with which the sound is perceived. In a sinusoidal function such as C sin ( 2 π f t ) {\displaystyle C\sin(2\pi ft)} , C represents the amplitude of the sound wave.
Historically, loudness was measured using an ear-balancing method with an audiometer in which the amplitude of a sine wave was adjusted by the user to equal the perceived loudness of the sound being evaluated. [6] Contemporary standards for measurement of loudness are based on the summation of energy in critical bands. [7]
Depending on context, wave height may be defined in different ways: For a sine wave, the wave height H is twice the amplitude (i.e., the peak-to-peak amplitude): [1] =.; For a periodic wave, it is simply the difference between the maximum and minimum of the surface elevation z = η(x – c p t): [1] = {()} {()}, with c p the phase speed (or propagation speed) of the wave.
In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the fundamental frequency of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the 1st harmonic; the other harmonics are known as higher harmonics.
[2] [3] [4] In air at atmospheric pressure, these represent sound waves with wavelengths of 17 metres (56 ft) to 1.7 centimetres (0.67 in). Frequencies below 20 Hz are generally felt rather than heard, assuming the amplitude of the vibration is great enough. Sound frequencies above 20 kHz are called ultrasonic.
In musical notation, the different vertical positions of notes indicate different pitches. Play top: Play bottom: Pitch is a perceptual property that allows sounds to be ordered on a frequency-related scale, [1] or more commonly, pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies. [2]
Amplitude modulation (AM) is a modulation technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting messages with a radio wave.In amplitude modulation, the amplitude (signal strength) of the wave is varied in proportion to that of the message signal, such as an audio signal.