In acoustics, particle acceleration is the acceleration (rate of change in speed and direction) of particles in a sound transmission medium. When sound passes through a medium it causes particle displacement and as such causes changes in their acceleration.

The acceleration of the air particles of a plane sound wave is given by:

<math display="block">

a = \delta \cdot \omega^2 = v \cdot \omega = \frac{p \cdot \omega}{Z} = \omega \sqrt \frac{J}{Z} = \omega \sqrt \frac{E}{\rho} = \omega \sqrt \frac{P_\text{ac{Z \cdot A}

</math>

{| class="wikitable"

! Symbol !! Units !! Meaning

|-

! a

| m/s<sup>2</sup> || particle acceleration

|-

! v

| m/s || particle velocity

|-

! δ

| m, meters || particle displacement

|-

! ω = 2πf

| radians/s || angular frequency

|-

! f

| Hz, hertz || frequency

|-

! p

| Pa, pascals || sound pressure

|-

! Z

| N·s/m<sup>3</sup> || acoustic impedance

|-

! J

| W/m<sup>2</sup> || sound intensity

|-

! E

| W·s/m<sup>3</sup> || sound energy density

|-

! P<sub>ac</sub>

| W, watts || sound power or acoustic power

|-

! A

| m<sup>2</sup> || area

|}

See also

  • Sound
  • Sound particle
  • Particle displacement
  • Particle velocity

References

  • Relationships of acoustic quantities associated with a plane progressive acoustic sound wave - pdf