Characteristics of beats:
When two sound waves of equal or nearly equal intensity and nearly equal frequencies originate at the same time and travel along the same direction, the loudness of the resulting sound is not uniform; rather it rises and falls at a particular interval of time. These periodic variations of loudness are called beats.
When two sound waves having faintly dissimilar frequencies travelling in the similar path get in the way with each other to give waves whose resultant intensity which is between maximum and minimum. These maximum and minimum values in intensity are called waxing and waning of sound. Like this, the waxing and waning of sound at regular intervals are called beats.
Characteristics of Beats:
- Beats are formed due to the periodic variation of intensity of sound when two sound waves of equal or nearly equal intensities and of nearly equal frequencies travelling in the same direction and suppose.
- Beats is a phenomenon associated with sound waves, though the effect applies to all waves.
- In case of beats, phase difference between the two waves at a point changes with time.
- Intensity of sound changes with time interval.
- Frequency of the resultant wave becomes equal to the average frequency of the beat forming waves.
- The beat frequency is measured from the rise and fall in the loudness/volume.
- The number of beats produced per one second is defined as the reciprocal of difference in frequencies two sound waves which produce waxing and waning.
