$hands on sound diffraction$

While no headphone can perfectly recreate the signal, there are infinite different ways to choose to distort that signal. This leads to distortion and some frequencies being louder or softer than the original. Things like the size and material of the magnet and diaphragm all prevent a speaker from perfectly matching its output to its input. However, the real physical world has limitations. Ideally, a speaker would convert the electrical signals of the input perfectly into sound representations. The magnet then moves the diaphragm in and out – kind of like a plunger – pushing and compressing air, creating pulses of high pressure and low pressure. When the electrical signal of a song or podcast pulses through the wires in a set of headphones, it changes the current and moves the magnet. Most speakers are made of four components: a stationary magnet, a wire coil that moves back and forth around that magnet, a diaphragm that pushes air and a suspension that holds the diaphragm.Įlectromagnetism states that when a wire is wrapped around a magnet and the current within the wire changes, the magnetic field around the wire changes proportionally. Simply put, speakers do the opposite of your ear: They convert the electrical signals from your phone, record player or computer into vibrations in air. Headphones – both bigger varieties that sit over your ears as well as small earbuds – are just small speakers. Svjo/WkimediaCommons, CC BY-SA How do headphones work? Speakers are fundamentally made of four components, a magnet (1), a coiled wire (2), a spring or suspension (3) and a diaphragm (4). But headphone engineers definitely need to consider how human perception differs from pure physics. Most people don’t know that hearing sensitivity varies and, frankly, would never need to consider this phenomenon – it is simply how people hear. Researchers think this may be due to evolutionary factors. Generally speaking, the human ear is more sensitive to middle frequencies than low or high pitches. Sensitive nerves then turn those vibrations into electrical signals that your brain interprets as sound.Īlthough people can hear a range of pitches roughly from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, human hearing does not respond equally well at all frequencies.įor example, if a low frequency rumble and a higher pitched bird have the same loudness, you would actually perceive the rumble to be quieter than the bird. These mechanical vibrations become fluid vibrations in your inner ear.

$hands on sound diffraction$

When sound enters your ear, your eardrum translates the air vibrations into mechanical vibrations of the tiny middle ear bones. The average person can hear a huge range of pitches and different levels of loudness. Iain/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA The human ear The human ear is a complex system that turns vibrations in the air into electrical signals that go to the brain.

$hands on sound diffraction$

Hands on sound diffraction