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Rarefaction is the reduction of an item's density, the opposite of compression. [1] Like compression, which can travel in waves (sound waves, for instance), rarefaction waves also exist in nature. A common rarefaction wave is the area of low relative pressure following a shock wave (see picture).
Sound is a pressure wave, which consists of alternating periods of compression and rarefaction. A noise-cancellation speaker emits a sound wave with the same amplitude but with an inverted phase (also known as antiphase) relative to the original sound.
A wave along the length of a stretched Slinky toy, where the distance between coils increases and decreases, is a good visualization. Real-world examples include sound waves (vibrations in pressure, a particle of displacement, and particle velocity propagated in an elastic medium) and seismic P waves (created by earthquakes and explosions).
Longitudinal sound waves are waves of alternating pressure deviations from the equilibrium pressure, causing local regions of compression and rarefaction, while transverse waves (in solids) are waves of alternating shear stress at right angle to the direction of propagation.
The fundamental function of this part of the ear is to gather sound energy and deliver it to the eardrum. Resonances of the external ear selectively boost sound pressure with frequency in the range 2–5 kHz. [2] The pinna as a result of its asymmetrical structure is able to provide further cues about the elevation from which the sound originated.
Gasses and liquids generally exhibit less hysteresis than solid materials (e.g., sound waves cause adiabatic compression and rarefaction) and behave in a, mostly, Newtonian way. Combined, the resistive and reactive properties of an acoustic medium form the acoustic impedance. The behaviour of sound waves encountering a different medium is ...
The rarefaction is the farthest distance apart in the longitudinal wave and the compression is the closest distance together. The speed of the longitudinal wave is increased in higher index of refraction, due to the closer proximity of the atoms in the medium that is being compressed. Sound is a longitudinal wave.
In physics, magnetosonic waves, also known as magnetoacoustic waves, are low-frequency compressive waves driven by mutual interaction between an electrically conducting fluid and a magnetic field. They are associated with compression and rarefaction of both the fluid and the magnetic field, as well as with an effective tension that acts to ...