And if two candles are burning, can you see the light as twice as far if there was only one?
2006-10-02 07:39:49 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Sound is measured on a logarithmic scale of decibels. At work we measure the noise level to know if we're complying with health and safety legislation.
In general if you double the sound source, the noise level increases by approximately 3 dB (decibels). e.g. if we have two machines compared to one the level would be 3 dB higher. The ear hears in the same way so twice the noise source does not sound much louder.
Your two bells will be 3 dB higher than one bell. Four bells would be 6 dB higher etc.
Be careful though - once you go above 85 dB for a significant length of time, it is compulsory to wear ear protection so don't have too many bells. Although 85 dB isn't really all that loud compared to your average night club at 110 dB.
Pure sounds will interfere with each other as stated in some of the answers above, either cancelling out or reinforcing, but the frequency would have to be nearly the same. A bell gives out several frequencies determined by its shape and the different modes of vibration. There will be some cancelling and reinforcing if they are very well matched, but the 3 dB rule of thumb holds most of the time.
Light does not behave the same as sound since it is linear, so two candles are twice as bright as one and you should see them over twice the distance.
2006-10-02 10:47:59 · answer #1 · answered by Billy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bit about the candles is true, but for bells, the wavelengths are longer, so there is a chance that the sound from the bells will interfere and you will get distructive interference, whereby the sound from the first bell wipes out the sound from the second bell and you get no sound at all. Then if you move a bit to the right, the sounds will overlap constructively and you will get a noise with twice the amplitude that one bell would produce.
2006-10-03 08:41:41 · answer #2 · answered by helen g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two bells may SEEM to be louder than one, but it is a phenomena of there being more sound waves at that given frequency. As for candles, yes, two would be twice as bright hence could be seen twice as far. Light waves are different than sound wave as to their speed and levels of distortion. That is why, large lights are still rated in X amount of "candlepower'.
2006-10-02 14:52:20 · answer #3 · answered by The Oldest Man In The World 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What you are asking is basically, will the sound get louder with the more bells that are rung. It's difficult to imagine the outcome when there are just 2 bells, so take it to the extreme... Would it be louder, ringing a million bells simultaneously?
I would hazard a guess that it probably would be.
So therefore ringing 2 must be louder than one.
2006-10-02 16:25:15 · answer #4 · answered by Mike N 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The two bells are not coherent sources. Hence discussion of interference is irrelevant. Assuming they're at equal distance from you, the sound will be twice as loud and this equates to a 3dB increase.
Don't ask how that's worked out if you don't understand powers of ten and logarithms.
2006-10-02 16:10:46 · answer #5 · answered by DriverRob 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The short answer to both questions is NO.
Sound is not measured on a linear scale, so 2X the output is not 2X the loudness
The two bells are both putting out waves of air pressure, these waves will interfere with each other. They might even cancel each other out if synced right. That is why church bells appear to fade in and out.
2006-10-02 14:51:56 · answer #6 · answered by Wundt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, the bells would'nt be twice as loud, but they would be twice as annoying! The candles would be twice as bright, as someone has said, that's where candle power rating for lights comes from.
2006-10-02 17:47:37 · answer #7 · answered by Ahwell 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the total energy (all around the room) produced by two bells will be double.
the energy in a specific place (e.g. your ear) depends weather the sound Waves in this specific place is in sync or not (Interference waves superposition)
the maximum power in case a fully constructive Interference situation will give a 4 times of the power (this is the theoretical maximum).
either way our ears work in a logarithmic scale, meaning that 4 time the power will be felt as much less
2006-10-02 15:26:38 · answer #8 · answered by mishelos 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hi,
the bells ,the bells,,, just a hunch but no change in volume by either....both the same .... one should not look at a candle let alone two for a long time......
2006-10-02 17:23:52 · answer #9 · answered by mrtootes7 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Question one answer is no
The voume will not change in terms of actual decibels howvere it may appear different as the frequency is the determining factor as to the dominant sound.
Human hearing has a different range of sounds but does not cover the entire sound spectrum so only parts may be heard.
the second question the answer is yes.
2006-10-02 14:56:32 · answer #10 · answered by commentator 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋