Acoustics - Critical Bandwidths ?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the confusion surrounding the combination of sound wave intensities within a critical bandwidth. The user, Hannah, initially struggled with whether to sum or average the intensities of two sounds within the same critical bandwidth. Ultimately, she concluded that summing the intensities is the correct approach, clarifying her misunderstanding regarding logarithmic calculations. This resolution highlights the importance of accurately applying mathematical principles when evaluating sound intensity levels.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of sound wave properties and critical bandwidths
  • Basic knowledge of intensity calculations in acoustics
  • Familiarity with logarithmic functions and their applications
  • Concept of sound intensity levels and their measurement
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of sound intensity and critical bandwidths in acoustics
  • Learn about logarithmic scales and their relevance in sound intensity calculations
  • Explore the concept of masking in auditory perception
  • Study the effects of combining sound waves in different frequency ranges
USEFUL FOR

Acoustics students, audio engineers, sound designers, and anyone involved in sound analysis and intensity measurement will benefit from this discussion.

Radiohannah
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Hello!

I'm getting a bit confused with how to deal with sound waves that are within one critical bandwidth of each other.

I do not fully understand how you are meant to combine the intensities of sound waves when they lie within one critical bandwidth?! I would really appreciate some clarity as I am getting very muddled!

I understand that separately (out with a critical band) the sum of the individual intensities would be more than that of the combined (within one critical bandwidth) intensities. This is where my confusion arises, I don't understand how exactly you can combine these intensities to get the overall result (from which I could evaluate the intensity level) ...the material online seems to conflict...

Basically, if I have two sounds, in one critical bandwidth, I can separately deduce their intensities, but then to evaluate the total intensity, am I meant to sum them, or take an average? By summing them I get an enormous value, which doesn't seem to correlate with the idea that the overall intensity should be smaller. But this is the approach that I have been finding online.


Any ideas/help?!?


Thank you in advance

Hannah :-D :-D :-D
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Solved it! It must be a sum, was mistaking my logs for lns :-(
 

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