Sound travel through mechanical waves. These waves are nothing but a disturbance that moves. As they move, they transfer energy from one source to another. Generally the disturbance caused in sound is due to a vibrating object. You hear your own voice because the diaphragm in your throat vibrates.
Medium of sounds
There are various types of mediums through which sound can pass or transferred. These may be interconnected or have their set of interactive particles. Apart from air, sound can also travel through mediums like liquids, gases and solids.
Sound doesn’t travel through air alone but also via solid surfaces. Try and press your ear against the table. When you tap on the table you can hear the disturbance in the ear. Collision of particles in the table creates sound. These wave moves from one source to another via a process called transmission.
If you consider a bell in the church, then you may notice that the bell rings and vibrates. Basically the bell is flexing inwards and outwards at a rapid pace. During the outward movement particles of air are pushed against the bell and other adjacent air particles. When the bell goes inwards, it also pulls against air particles that are adjacent. This pattern of push and pull is called sound wave. Here the bell is the actual disturbance while air is the medium.
Can everyone hear?
Anything that we hear from the ear is known as sound. The sensations made by sound are heard by the ear. However, not everyone can hear. Persons who have a damaged ear drum lack the hearing sense. Human beings and most animal and bird species have the potential to hear sound. The sound traveling in a medium can only be heard when it reaches the ear. The range of sound can be anywhere between 20 and 20000 hertz.
