Sound pressure is the small pressure deviation caused by a sound wave

Evidence

Sound pressure, on the other hand, is the deviation of pressure from the static pressure in a medium, most often air, due to a sound wave at a specific point in space. Sound pressure values in air are typically much smaller than the static pressure. Sounds that human hearing can deal with are within the range of 20 · 10−6 to 50 Pa. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 194

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: Defines sound pressure as deviation from static pressure with the human-audible range in Pa.
• XREF: Connects to the decibel scaling at 201-202 which takes the 20 uPa floor as its reference.

Related

• Sound pressure is tiny pressure deviation, and human hearing spans a specific Pa range (similarity 0.94)
• Sound amplitude is measured as root mean square pressure because ears sense pressure (similarity 0.89)
• A sound wave’s pressure component arises from the force driving molecular displacement. (similarity 0.87)
• Sound is a mechanical wave requiring a medium and a vibrating source (similarity 0.83)
• Pressure is scalar while velocity gives a sound wave its direction (similarity 0.83)
• Sound intensity level and sound pressure level are roughly equivalent (similarity 0.82)
• Sound audibility depends on both its level and its frequency (similarity 0.82)
• Hearing detects pressure changes, not absolute ambient pressure (similarity 0.82)
• Sound pressure level is the standard because it matches hearing (similarity 0.81)
• Sound pressure and intensity are distinct quantities interconvertible by a known relationship (similarity 0.81)
• A medium’s density and elasticity relate sound pressure to particle velocity. (similarity 0.81)
• Reported sound levels almost always refer to pressure, matching human hearing (similarity 0.81)
• Sound pressure and intensity relate through air impedance of roughly 415 rayls (similarity 0.81)
• Sound requires a physical medium to propagate through (similarity 0.81)
• Speed of sound in a gas depends on temperature and molecular weight, not pressure (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• A sound wave’s pressure component arises from the force driving molecular displacement. #expands (0.85) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 141
• Sound waves are longitudinal waves of alternating compression and rarefaction #expands (0.85) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 27
• Sound is alternating pressure condensations and rarefactions #expands (0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 46
• Sound waves have an inherent velocity component tied to molecular displacement. #expands (0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 142