Speed of acoustic sound by varying decibles

1. 61

   Mentalist acerposted 6 years ago

   Does a loud acoustic sound travel farther than a softer one?
   

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      Larry Fieldsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      My understanding is that it does not. Yes, we can hear a louder sound at a greater distance. However the percent attenuation is the same for loud sounds and for soft sounds. If we are at a great distance from the source of the sound, the sound waves from the softer sound may have dipped below our perceptual threshold.
      Caveat: My background is in chemistry, rather than physics.

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      1. 61

         Mentalist acerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Larry Fields:Thanks
         I was thinking this was true but in a primitive way.
         Good Day.
         

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2. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 6 years ago

   As far as I know the speed of sound varies only according to the medium it is passing through

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      Mentalist acerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank You psycheskinner this is very helpful.

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3. 98

   leahleflerposted 6 years ago

   Loud and soft sounds attenuate at the same rate, but human perception of sound will vary according to hearing thresholds.
   
   An interesting story: I once did a quick listening check on my son's hearing aids in the car, and heard a man speaking softly. This sort of freaked me out, because I couldn't figure out why there would be the sound of a voice in his hearing aids when there was no one else in the car with us. As it turns out, I had the radio turned down so low I couldn't hear it (I thought it was off), but the amplification on my son's aids made the (very) soft sound perceptible to my ears. Took me a few minutes to figure that one out!

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   1. 61

      Mentalist acerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank You Leahlefler and everyone else for such great illumination on the fact that it doesn't matter if the initial sound is soft or loud!
      

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