How does loudness work? I looked up what a decibel was on Wikipedia and my eyes melted. How does measuring the loudness of something work? What actually happens when we experience a sound as really loud or really quiet?
In: Physics
Something movies through the air, pushes some air towards your ear. Like when you sweep your hand through water, you push some and also create a little void behind your hand with less water. It’s the same when you push air, you squeeze some air together and shove it in a direction, but behind that air is a gap with less air. This wave of air pressure hits your ear and the ear drum back and forth. The more pressure, the further the ear drum is pushed.
Loudness is like if someone squeezes your arm really hard, more pressure more loud. High pitch sounds are like someone squeezing your hand on and off really fast, like they are trying to vibrate you. Low pitch is a slowly changing pressure, like someone squeezing your arm and then waiting a moment, and then squeezing again.
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