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How rarfractions and compression helps in propagation of sound?

Sound comes from a series of vibrations, and all the sounds you heard in the experiment occurred because of vibrations and energy. Sound travels in waves. When a source, or something that produces sound, vibrates, it transfers its energy to the surrounding particles causing them to vibrate. Those particles then bump into the ones next to them and so on. This causes the particles to move back and forth but waves of energy to move outward in all directions from the source. Your vocal chords and the strings on a guitar are both sources which vibrate to produce sounds. Without energy, there would be no sound. Let's take a closer look at sound waves.

Role of compressions and Rarefactions in sound wave:



Waves are made up of compressions and rarefractions. Compression happens when molecules are forced, or pressed, together. Rarefaction is just the opposite, it occurs when molecules are given extra space and allowed to expand. Remember that sound is a type of kinetic energy. As the molecules are pressed together, they pass the kinetic energy to each other. Thus sound energy travels outward from the source. These molecules are part of a medium, which is anything that carries sound. Sound travels through air, water, or even a block of steel, thus, all are mediums for sound. Without a medium there are no molecules to carry the sound waves. In places like space, where there is no atmosphere, there is no sound.

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Hi,

Sound is a mechanical wave, which means that it requires a medium to propagate. It travels through the medium in the form of of changes in the density of the medium particles. As the source vibrates, the molecules near it also vibrate and this disturbance is carried forward by the medium-molecules in the form of compression and rarefaction. Thus, the sound travels as the molecules of the medium compress (come close) and rarefy (move far apart) alternately for the sound to move.

Now we know that in solids, the molecules which make up the medium are more dense than those of the air. As a result the sound wave is easily able to compress and rarefy the molecules in case of solids (due to high density of medium particles) and thus moves faster.

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Sound is a mechanical wave, which means that it requires a medium to propagate. It travels through the medium in the form of of changes in the density of the medium particles. As the source vibrates, the molecules near it also vibrate and this disturbance is carried forward by the medium-molecules in the form of compression and rarefaction. Thus, the sound travels as the molecules of the medium compress (come close) and rarefy (move far apart) alternately for the sound to move.

Now we know that in solids, the molecules which make up the medium are more dense than those of the air. As a result the sound wave is easily able to compress and rarefy the molecules in case of solids (due to high density of medium particles) and thus moves faster.

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