| A
sound source
which emits energy.
This can take any number of forms such as one object striking another;
a stream of air passing over a hole, or past a flexible reed; the scraping
or plucking of a string; etc. |
An
elastic medium
which transmits
the energy from one location to another. This is usually
air although sound energy is readily transmitted through other media such
as water, steel, or glass. Another characteristic affecting the quality
of the sound heard is the boundaries affecting the way the energy is reflected,
refracted, diffracted,
or absorbed. |
A
receptor which
is affected and therefore detects
the energy being transmitted by the medium. In human
hearing this involves the
ear and its component parts as well as the nervous system
which processes and stores the information provided by the ear. |
