MadSci Network: Physics
Query:

Re: Sound Waves; and their reactions within an environment

Area: Physics
Posted By: Dave Dixon, Assistant Research Physicist,University of California
Date: Mon Sep 22 12:08:23 1997
Area of science: Physics
ID: 873863865.Ph
Message:
Though you've got the basic idea right, the business of calculating and
using a transfer function is quite difficult.  Given a certain input
frequency spectrum, the transfer function tells you what the output will
be.  Generally speaking, for a non-trivial transfer function, you will find
that certain frequencies will be amplified, while others depressed.  There
may also be mode couplings, which basically means that the presence of a
certain frequency may enhance other frequencies.

As you said, part of the transfer function has to do with what wavelengths
fit best within the car.  However, the materials that the car is made of
also contribute, as they will transmit and reflect sound differently.
The presence or absence of people in the car affects things.  In addition
to just the basic dimensions, the shape of the car modifies the
transfer function.

In principle, you could take all of this information, plug it into a,
and solve the partial differential equations associated with sound
propagation.  I'd guess that car designers probably do this (I know that
it's done for concert hall and theater design), but as you can tell,
there's a lot of factors to take into account, and it requires a fair
amount of computer power to solve the equations.  Software to do this
kind of thing may be available commercially, but I'm not familiar
with any.

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