REFLECTION OF SOUND- Like light waves sound waves also get reflected

when these fall on the surface of solid or liquid and follows same laws of
reflection.
1. The incident wave, reflected wave and normal (at the point of incidence),
all lies in same plane.
2. The angle of incidence is always equal to angle of reflection.

ECHO- The repetition of sound caused by the reflection of sound waves is

called an echo. An echo can be heard distinctly only if the time interval between
the original sound and reflected sound is greater than 0.1s.This is because the
sensation of sound persists in our brain for about 0.1s.
Let d= minimum distance of the obstacle from the source.
And v=speed of the sound in air, t= total time taken by the sound to reach
the listener.
Total distance travelled by sound= speed of sound X total time
2d=v x t
If we take v=344 m/s at a given temperature, say at 22 ºC in air, t=0.1 sec
2d=344 x 0.1
So d= 17.2 m
This distance will change with the temperature of air. Echoes may be heard
more than once due to successive or multiple reflections. The rolling of thunder
is due to the successive reflections of the sound from a number of reflecting
surfaces, such as the clouds and the land.
USES OF MULTIPLE REFLECTION OF SOUND-
1. Megaphones or loudhailers, horns, musical instruments such as trumpets
and shehanais, are all designed to send sound in a particular direction
without spreading it in all directions, In these instruments, a tube
 followed by a conical opening reflects sound successively to guide most
of the sound waves from the source in the forward direction towards the
audience.

2. Stethoscope is a medical instrument used for listening to sounds produced

within the body, mainly in the heart or lungs. In stethoscopes the sound of
the patient’s heartbeat reaches the doctor’s ears by multiple reflection of
sound, as shown in Fig

3. Generally the ceilings of concert halls, conference halls and cinema halls
are curved so that sound after reflection reaches all corners of the hall, as
shown in Fig 11.12. Sometimes a curved soundboard may be placed
behind the stage so that the sound, after reflecting from the sound board,
spreads evenly across the width of the hall
REVERBERATION- A sound created in a big hall will persist by repeated
reflection from the walls until it is reduced to a value where it is no longer
audible. The repeated reflection that results in this persistence of sound is called
reverberation.
In an auditorium or big hall excessive reverberation is highly undesirable. To
reduce reverberation, the roof and walls of the auditorium are generally covered
with sound-absorbent materials like compressed fibreboard, rough plaster or
draperies. The seat materials are also selected on the basis of their sound
absorbing properties.
RANGE OF HEARING-
Audible range of sound-The audible range of sound for human beings extends
from about 20 Hz to 20000 Hz.
Infrasonic sound- Sounds of frequencies below 20 Hz are called infrasonic
sound or infrasound. Rhinoceroses communicate using infrasound of frequency
as low as 5 Hz. Whales and elephants produce sound in the infrasound range. It
is observed that some animals get disturbed before earthquakes. Earthquakes
produce low-frequency infrasound before the main shock waves.
ultrasonic sound or ultrasound- . Frequencies higher than 20 kHz are called
ultrasonic sound or ultrasound. Ultrasound is produced by animals such as
dolphins, bats and porpoises. Moths of certain families have very sensitive
hearing equipment. These moths can hear the high frequency squeaks of the bat
and know when a bat is flying nearby, and are able to escape capture. Rats also
play games by producing ultrasound.
Applications of Ultrasound-
1. Ultrasound is generally used to clean parts located in hard-to-reach
places, for example, spiral tube, odd shaped parts, electronic components,
etc. Objects to be cleaned are placed in a cleaning solution and ultrasonic
waves are sent into the solution. Due to the high frequency, the particles
of dust, grease and dirt get detached and drop out. The objects thus get
thoroughly cleaned.
2. Ultrasounds can be used to detect cracks and flaws in metal blocks. in
construction of big structures like buildings, bridges, machines and also
scientific equipment. The cracks or holes inside the metal blocks, which
are invisible from outside reduces the strength of the structure. Ultrasonic
waves are allowed to pass through the metal block and detectors are used
to detect the transmitted waves. If there is even a small defect, the
 ultrasound gets reflected back indicating the presence of the flaw or
defect, as shown

3. Ultrasonic waves are made to reflect from various parts of the heart and
form the image of the heart. This technique is called ‘echocardiography’.
4. Ultrasound scanner is an instrument which uses ultrasonic waves for
getting images of internal organs of the human body. A doctor may image
the patient’s organs, such as the liver, gall bladder, uterus, kidney, etc. It
helps the doctor to detect abnormalities, such as stones in the gall bladder
and kidney or tumours in different organs. In this technique the ultrasonic
waves travel through the tissues of the body and get reflected from a
region where there is a change of tissue density. These waves are then
converted into electrical signals that are used to generate images of the
organ. These images are then displayed on a monitor or printed on a film.
This technique is called ‘ultrasonography’. Ultrasonography is also used
for examination of the foetus during pregnancy to detect congenial
defects and growth abnormalities.
5. Ultrasound may be employed to break small ‘stones’ formed in the
kidneys into fine grains. These grains later get flushed out with urine.