what do sound waves look like?

Answer 1

Sound waves "look" like a series of successive compressions and expansions, rather than like up-and-down oscillating water waves. You might be able to see this effect in air --and look at a train of sound waves from the side--by looking at an intense, uniform light through the train of a particularly intense sound wave.

Answer 2

A more carefully worded question would help. Choosing to interpret the question literally, sound can indeed be seen if it is intense enough by its effect on the index of refraction of air due to the density perturbation. Basically, background objects will appear distorted, much like one sees above a hot surface in the sun. It has to be pretty loud though. I saw a 1000 lb C4 explosive go off once from about 2 miles away. Beyond the fireball, it looked like a rapidly expanding bubble. This is an acoustic *shock* wave, though, entailing a pressure discontinuity in the fluid approximation. That makes it more visible than sound waves that aren't strong enough to create at shock..

Answer 3

First of all I am assuming you are referring to looking at them as a voltage level. It all depends on the type of sound. They usually have many different frequencies in them. They usually do not look like a sine wave. Sound is best examined in the frequency domain. The frequency domain allows us to examine the different frequencies in a sound. The human voice has frequencies from 0Hz - 8kHz. Can't really go a whole lot more specific because you are a lamen. Search the Internet and you should be able to find some pictures.

Answer 4

Probably the easiest way to visualize what a sound wave would 'look' like in air, would be to get two friends to help you. have them hold a Slinky-- the old spring toy, remember? across the room.

Pinch together a number of turns of the spring (in the direction in which the spring is stretched out) and then suddenly release it. You will see the waves of compression travelling back and forth.

Or try stretching the spring out in the middle (once more, in the direction in which the spring is already stretched out) and suddenly releasing it. You will see the waves of rarefaction travel back and forth. I hope this clarifies.

Answer 5

Longitudinal waves depend on a medium. Solid, liquid or gas are common mediums. The wind blowing on a field of grain moves the grain and elements in the wind. We can see the grain moving and hear the wind blowing. Scalar functions can be utilized to measure or quantify intensity and softness. Visualizing small sounds is not difficult viewing pictures found at
http://www.microscopyu.com/galleries/index.html

Answer 6

Can we represent them in visual like voltage and current sine waves with an osiliscope, I suppose someone can..what if we could develop the means to see all types of invisible waves, sound, neutrinos, everything invisible to the human naked eye.

Answer 7

Nothing.

Our vision is only sensible to electromagnetic waves of certain wavelengths!

However, the nature of sound waves is that they are longitudinal waves, made up of compressions and rarefactions.

Answer 8

They likely have no physical appearance,but are perceived by our hearing.But,our hearing is not neccesary to prove that they exist.Think about loud noises that shatter windows,the windows don't have ears,but in their breaking,they "heard"it,didn't they?They don't look any certain way,but they are here.

Answer 9

NOISY--humor lol,but does sort of answer the question.