Attenuation Flashcards
What does attenuate mean?
To weaken or reduce in strength.
What is the decrease in intensity, power, and amplitude of sound as it travels through a medium called?
Attenuation
Attenuation is determined by what two factors?
Path length
Frequency of sound
What are the units of attenuation?
Negative dB, since it’s a decrease of intensity.
How are distance and attenuation related?
They are directly related.
The farther a sound travels, the greater the attenuation and the weaker the beam becomes.
How are frequency and attenuation related?
They are directly related.
Attenuation is greater in higher frequency sound than in lower frequency sound.
Attenuation is measured in decibels and reported as a _____ _____ not an _____ _____.
Relative change
Absolute value
What 3 processes contribute to attenuation?
Reflection
Scattering
Absorption
There will be more attenuation with:
_____ _____ and _____ _____.
Longer distances
Higher frequencies
There will be less attenuation with
_____ _____ and _____ _____.
Shorter distances
Lower frequencies
What happens when sound strikes a boundary?
A portion of the energy may be redirected, or reflected, back to the sound source.
How does reflection affect the portion of the sound wave that continues in the forward direction?
It is weakened
When is reflection more likely to occur?
When the dimension of the boundary is large; that is, more than a few wavelengths of the sound.
What two forms of reflection are created in soft tissue?
Specular and Diffuse
What determines which form of reflection is created?
Which form occurs depends on the nature of the interface that a sound wave strikes. (ex: smooth or flat)