Acoustic wave energy

Here is a complete entry prepared in plain text format, maintaining your structure and without using LaTeX code, ready to be pasted into the Framer editor.

Sound Wave Energy (E)

Professional Definition

The energy of a sound wave is the total energy of the propagating wave, being the sum of the potential and kinetic energy of the particles of the medium through which the wave passes.

In a strict sense, the density of this energy consists of two elements:

1. Kinetic Energy – related to the speed of air molecules oscillating around their equilibrium position.

2. Potential Energy – arising from the elasticity of the medium, meaning local changes in pressure (compressions and rarefactions of the air).

Under ideal conditions (e.g., a plane wave in free field), the average values of both energies are equal, ensuring a smooth flow of sound.

Acoustics in Simple Words

Imagine the air as a huge collection of heavy balls connected by springs. When a sound wave passes through this system, two processes occur simultaneously:

• Movement (Kinetic Energy): The balls start moving and gain speed – this represents the oscillating air molecules that set your eardrum in motion.

• Compression (Potential Energy): The springs between the balls are alternately compressed and stretched – this represents changes in acoustic pressure.

The energy of a sound wave is the sum of the energy of those "accelerated balls" and "stretched springs". Sound could not exist without this exchange: if the air had no mass, there would be no kinetic energy; if it were not elastic, there would be no potential energy. In both cases, silence would be absolute.

Summary

• Fuel of Sound: Acoustic energy is the driving force of the wave – it determines how hard the sound "hits".

• Indivisibility: It always consists of motion (particle velocity) and pressure (pressure).

• Range: The amount of this energy determines how loudly we hear the sound and how far it can travel before being finally dampened by the environment.