| Music, voices and sound effects come from so many | | | | your ear detects and converts into sound! |
| of the devices we use day to day that we hardly | | | | At this point, the sound will be very faint. Of course, |
| give them any thought. But, just for a moment, | | | | you can make it louder by turning up the volume. |
| consider that its really amazing that we hear so many | | | | Increasing the volume causes the electrical signals to |
| different things with just the push of a button. Just | | | | be stronger when they reach the coil. This in turn |
| how does this magic happen? How do electrical | | | | causes the push-pull to be stronger leading to greater |
| impulses become something we can actually hear? It | | | | air disturbance and a louder sound. However, without |
| is an amazing feat that, in its simplest form, is really | | | | a speaker case the sound will be very soft even at |
| basic. | | | | maximum volume. |
| A speaker is an electronic device that is designed to | | | | The case around a speaker is very practical as well |
| convert electrical signals into sound. As you know, | | | | as decorative. It amplifies the sound of the speaker |
| without speakers, the fanciest audio equipment | | | | dramatically. As the speaker vibrates, it causes the air |
| would be useless. The speaker does its job by | | | | in the case to vibrate in sympathetic resonance - |
| vibrating very much like a drum. The "drum" in this | | | | which is a fancy way of saying that everything gets |
| instance is a piece of paper, fabric or plastic attached | | | | louder! Without a case, there would not be much |
| along its entire edge to a circular metal frame. This | | | | chest thumping bass in the world. |
| composes the front of the speaker and is called the | | | | With a well-equipped, high-power stereo system you |
| "cone" or "diaphragm". Just like a drum, the cone | | | | must be careful that the speakers are rated for the |
| makes sound by moving back and forth very rapidly. | | | | output produced by the stereo components. |
| This motion is created by a coil that is attached to | | | | Otherwise, too much power to the speakers will |
| the inner part of the cone. The metal coil is attached | | | | cause the speakers to "blow", which simply means |
| to the stereo or CD player's wires and the cone/coil | | | | that the energy ported to the speakers caused |
| assembly is situated in front of a magnet. | | | | physical damage to the speaker construction and the |
| Now we can turn on the stereo and feed music to | | | | speaker no longer can focus the sound waves as |
| the coil. The "music" at this point is a series of | | | | they should. Blown speakers can be repaired, but it's |
| electrical pulses that are received by the coil turning it | | | | better not to get to that point. |
| into an electromagnet. As a result, the coil is | | | | Of course, this is a very basic overview. Speaker |
| alternately positively and negatively charged in rapid | | | | physics is complex and there are different types of |
| succession. thereby being attracted and repelled by | | | | speakers for different sounds. But on a simple level, |
| the magnet that it is positioned next to. This push-pull | | | | it is all about pushing and pulling really fast. That is |
| moves the cone very rapidly causing the nearby air | | | | something else to think about while listening to your |
| to oscillate. This oscillation is the sound waves that | | | | Sounds of the Amazon CD this weekend! |