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Physics · Sound and acoustics

Acoustics Studio

Bounce sound rays around a 3D hall and hear the reverb change, cancel noise with a mirrored wave, hear an ambulance bend its pitch, and zoom into a vinyl groove.

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First lesson01 · What makes a sound?See all 24 lessons →

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The course

6 worlds · 24 lessons

World 1 · Sound Is a Vibration

FREEWaves of squeezed air, frequency, decibels and distance
  1. 01What makes a sound?Vibration needs a medium · 10 min
  2. 02Pitch, loudness and speedFrequency, amplitude and v = f × λ · 12 min
  3. 03DecibelsA scale that multiplies · 14 min
  4. 04Distance and the inverse squareWhy it gets quieter as you walk away · 11 min

World 2 · Echoes and Reverb

PROReflections, RT60, Sabine and the bass of a room
  1. 01EchoesSound bouncing back · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Reverberation and RT60The tail of a sound · 12 minPRO
  3. 03Sabine's formulaRT60 = 0.161 V / A · 14 minPRO
  4. 04Standing waves in a roomRoom modes and the bass · 13 minPRO

World 3 · Design a Concert Hall

PROTargets, materials, bad reflections and a design challenge
  1. 01Speech or music?Different rooms, different goals · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Absorb, reflect, diffuseWhat surfaces do to sound · 12 minPRO
  3. 03Echo traps and diffusersFlutter echo, focus and scattering · 12 minPRO
  4. 04Design challengeBuild a hall · 14 minPRO

World 4 · Noise-Cancelling Headphones

PROWaves that add, anti-noise, limits and safe use
  1. 01Waves addSuperposition and interference · 12 minPRO
  2. 02Anti-noiseMirror the wave · 14 minPRO
  3. 03What it can and cannot cancelLow hum versus speech · 12 minPRO
  4. 04Using them safelyAwareness and hearing · 12 minPRO

World 5 · Doppler and the Sound Barrier

PROMoving sources, pitch shifts, Mach cones and sonic booms
  1. 01The Doppler effectThe passing ambulance · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Doppler numbersf' = f × c / (c ∓ v) · 12 minPRO
  3. 03Mach conesFaster than sound · 12 minPRO
  4. 04Sonic boomA sound you cannot outrun · 12 minPRO

World 6 · From Groove to Sound, and Whale Song

PROVinyl, the RIAA curve, the SOFAR channel and the sounds of the sea
  1. 01Inside a vinyl grooveA wiggly canyon · 12 minPRO
  2. 02Stylus to signalThe cartridge and the RIAA curve · 13 minPRO
  3. 03Sound in the seaThe SOFAR channel · 13 minPRO
  4. 04Whale song and ocean noiseListening and the cost of noise · 13 minPRO
Acoustics Studio — interactive 3D lab · Novareka