Natural Frequencies and Vibration Amplitudes of Object A

[Tam Le]

Suppose a sound wave with multiple natural frequencies--a complex sound wave--strikes Object A. Some of those frequencies matches the natural frequencies of Object A.

A) Will Object A vibrate at all the different frequencies or only to its natural frequencies?

B) If Object A vibrates at all the different frequencies, does it vibrate more vigorously to its natural frequencies? In other words, will the amplitude of vibration of its natural frequencies be greater than the other frequencies?

 

[Drakkith]

A) Will Object A vibrate at all the different frequencies or only to its natural frequencies?

I think it vibrates at all the frequencies, but the non-natural ones simply die off very quickly compared to the natural frequencies.

B) If Object A vibrates at all the different frequencies, does it vibrate more vigorously to its natural frequencies? In other words, will the amplitude of vibration of its natural frequencies be greater than the other frequencies?

I believe so. That would appear to match the explanation given at wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_frequency

 

[Tam Le]

If that is true Drakkith, then wouldn't Object A produce a different complex sound wave compared to the incident complex sound wave? Thus, the sound wave I would hear from Object A would be a modified version of the incident sound wave.

Thank you for replying.

 

[Drakkith]

I'm not an expert in acoustics, but that sounds correct to me. I'm sure the details are pretty complicated though. Maybe someone with more experience in this area will chime in. (Hah! Chime in!)