Sound is simply a series of vibrations that cause an audible wave (also referred to as a mechanical wave) of pressure to pass through a medium such as air, gases and liquids.  When sound passes through one of these forms of mediums, it creates a longitudinal wave.  When sound passes through a solid medium it creates a transverse wave." Longitudinal sound waves are waves of alternating pressure while transverse waves are waves of alternating stress at a right angle to the direction of the sound’s origin. The study of sound that deals with mechanical waves is known as acoustics while the... Show more

Sound is simply a series of vibrations that cause an audible wave (also referred to as a mechanical wave) of pressure to pass through a medium such as air, gases and liquids.  When sound passes through one of these forms of mediums, it creates a longitudinal wave.  When sound passes through a solid medium it creates a transverse wave."

Longitudinal sound waves are waves of alternating pressure while transverse waves are waves of alternating stress at a right angle to the direction of the sound’s origin.

The study of sound that deals with mechanical waves is known as acoustics while the person who studies sound itself is called an acoustical engineer.  An audio engineer should not be mistaken for an acoustical engineer as an audio engineer is concerned about records, manipulating, mixing and reproducing sounds.

Although it is the ear that hears the sound, it is the brain that interprets what the sound is.

Forms of Sound
Pitch: Pitch is the property of sound.  It varies in frequency and intensity.  (Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event over a specified amount of time.)

Doppler Effect: The Doppler effect is the change in frequency of sound waves as the source of the wave moves in relationship to where the observer is located.

Loudness: Loudness is the level at which sound is heard.

Decibel: A decibel is a unit of measure in which the intensity of sound is measured." Noise: Noise is often used to describe sounds that are unwanted as they are irritating.  But what may be noise to one person may be music to another so it is very subjective.

The Behavior of Sound
The behavior of sound is affected in three distinct ways that include the relationship between density (volume of mass) and pressure.  For example, temperature can affect the speed of sound as the density of the atmosphere changes as temperatures rise and fall.  In addition, the temperature can change the pressure of the air.  This change can speed up sound or slow it down. The behavior of sound is also affected by motion.  For example, take a person playing a guitar.  While they stand directly in front of you the music is loud and clear but as they move to either your right or left or to your back or a greater distance away from you, the intensity of the sound will audibly change even though at the source, the sound level has remained consistent.Third is the viscosity of the medium producing a particular audible sound.  The viscosity will determine the rate in which the sound will travel or flow.

Speed of Sound
The actual speed of sound will be determined by the medium it must pass through.  

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