25 April 2013 (through May 17)

Understanding the basic principles of sound (change from list form to paragraph explanation)
A sound-wave is a vibration of molecules traveling through a medium through the ear, where it is interpreted as sound. Soundwaves contain compressions which are where air molecules are pushed together by vibrations, and rarefactions which are when molecules are far from each-other.  Sound waves travels through various mediums like liquids, gasses (they travel fastest through these), and solids, but not through empty space. There are frequencies of sound based on the amplitude of the wave that we humans can detect, but we can only only a certain range of sound. In a speaker, a current travels through a magnetic field of a current and creates vibrations in a cone, which projects sound for the listener.

http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/guide/the-physical-principles-of-sound/
Check "Designing, Building, Testing..." book

sound terms (glossary form)
-acoustics (speaker and room)
     -Reflective
     -Absorbant
     -Diffusive

-compression and refraction
-sound waves
-Peak displacement/ equilibrium
-sine waves/amplitude
-phase
-frequency and pitch (higher frequency is faster shorter waves, lower is longer slower waves)
-Sound energy is created as a currency flows through a series of magnetized coils and a cone vibrates creating different frequency levels.
-decibel

-


sound equipment:

acoustical rules of speaker placement with sound behavior. (paragraph form)
-acoustics (speaker and room)
     -Reflective
     -Absorbant
     -Diffusive

23 April 2013

I put this speaker on full volume on all sources and It is still fairly quiet. The speaker might need to be smaller w/ that output but it projects volume nicely. I know about the inner workings of speakers now and will soon replicate this in a more powerful speaker.

22 April 2013

I brought a headphone amplifier and used that as a constant power source to the speaker. It works! I replaced the springs and it can successfully output music.

19 April 2013

I found 2 resources which will help give me a better understanding on how these sound-circuits work: The Audiophile Project Handbook & the science of sound w/ sound projects books. I am not getting enough ohms to the speaker itself, so I will bring in my personal headphone amplifier that I have at my house. It should provide the amperage needed to power the speaker. I also worked on the speakerbox for the rest of the time.

18 April 2013

On this day, I switched from paper springs, to metal springs, which will provide resistance to the magnets and hopefully allow vibrations and for sound to travel through the magnetized flow more properly. The second thing I did, was re-adjust the current flow in the headphone wires that I acquired. I connected the other ear wires, as these were stereo. I also worked on a metal frame for this that should amplify the sound output.

Page overview

What is this page? If you are wondering what this is for, it is a blog about the physics behind a speaker system. I will attempt to create a working speaker and subwoofer system out of simple parts by testing the physics and circuitry of a self-made speaker.

List of acheivements
-gather supplies for speaker
-assemble working speaker
-test speaker to play music
-gather supplies for subwoofer
-assemble subwoofer from instructions
-play music in unison to the speaker system.