Sound Waves Essays - Waves, Acoustics, Wave Mechanics, Hearing

Sound Waves Essays - Waves, Acoustics, Wave Mechanics, Hearing Sound Waves Sound is part of our everyday lives. Just like we have eyes for, we are given ears for hearing sound. We rarely take the time to think about the characteristics of sound and the ways that they are made. The basis for an understanding of sound and hearing is the physics of waves. Sound is a wave, which is created by vibrating objects and spread through a medium from one location to another. In this paper, we will look at the nature, properties and behaviors of sound waves. A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium, transporting energy from one location to another location. The medium is simply the material through which the sound, or disturbance, is moving; it can be thought of as a series of interacting particles. The example of a slinky wave is often used to illustrate the nature of a wave. A disturbance is typically created within the slinky by the back and forth movement of the first coil of the slinky. The first coil becomes disturbed and begins to push or pull on the second coil; this push or pull on the second coil will shift the second coil from its balanced position. As the second coil becomes shifted, it begins to push or pull on the third coil; the push or pull on the third coil displaces it from its balanced position. As the third coil becomes shifted, it begins to push or pull on the fourth coil. This process continues one after the other, each individual particle acting to displace the neighboring particle; ev entually the disturbance travels all the way through the slinky. As the disturbance moves from coil to coil, the energy which was originally introduced into the first coil is transported along the medium from one location to another. A sound wave is similar to a slinky for a couple of reasons. First, there is a medium, which carries the disturbance from one location to another. Usually, this medium is air; though it could be any material such as water or steel. The medium is simply a series of interconnected and interacting particles. Second, there is an original source of the wave, some vibrating object capable of disturbing the first particle of the medium. The vibrating object, which creates the disturbance, could be the vocal chords of a person, the vibrating string and sound board of a guitar or violin, the vibrating tines of a tuning fork, or the vibrating diaphragm of a radio speaker. Third, the sound wave is transported from one location to another by means of the particle interaction. If the sound wave is moving through air, then as one air particle is shifted from its balanced position, it exerts a push or pull on its nearest neighbors, causing them to be shifted from their equilibrium position. This pa rticle interaction continues throughout the entire medium, with each particle interacting and causing a disturbance of its nearest neighbors. Since a sound wave is a disturbance, which is transported through a medium via the means of particle interaction, a sound wave is characterized as a mechanical wave. The creation of sound waves are often demonstrated by using a tuning fork. A tuning fork is a metal object that has two tines(spikes) that vibrate if they are hit by a rubber hammer or mallet. As the tines of the tuning forks vibrate back and forth, they begin to disturb surrounding air molecules. These disturbances are passed on to neighboring air molecules by the means of particle interaction. The motion of the disturbance, originating at the tines of the tuning fork and traveling through the medium (in this case, air) is what is referred to as a sound wave. Sometimes, the tuning fork is mounted on a soundboard. When this happens, the vibrating tuning fork, connected to the soundboard, sets the soundboard into a vibrating motion. In turn, the soundboard sets the air inside of the it into a vibrating motion. As the tines of the tuning fork, the structure of the soundboard, and the inside of the soundboard begin vibrating at the same frequency, a louder sound is produced. In fact, the more particles which can be made to

Cue vs. Queue

Cue vs. Queue Cue vs. Queue Cue vs. Queue By Maeve Maddox The first time I read the following passage, I thought the use of the word queue must be arcane computer science jargon, but when I read it a second time, I realized the spelling queue in this context was just a mistake: This happens to be one of our common gripes: that once the battery is end-of-life, we are pretty much forced to get a replacement unit since the battery takes a  queue  from Apple and is sealed inside the casing. The passage is from a product review. The writer is criticizing the fact that the consumer cannot replace the tool’s battery because, like the batteries in some Apple devices, it’s sealed. The tool’s manufacturers have â€Å"taken their cue† from Apple. Take one’s cue: use someone else’s behavior as a model for one’s own. The mistaken use of queue for cue was a new one for me, so I did a web search to see if this reviewer had company. He has plenty of company. And don’t pounce on the Americans; the misuse is global. I found examples on sites in the U.K., Australia, and Jamaica, as well as in the U.S. and in at least one printed book. Deron is on half speed one game, full speed another game. Everyone else takes their queue from that. Telstra are dead in the water. Hopefully the .au government takes their queue and busts it in half. The populace takes their queue from people of influence who are either silent on the matter†¦[or] are outrightly vocalising their contempt†¦ If the bride and groom are uptight and nervous the whole wedding takes their queue from them.   Cue and queue are both pronounced like the name of the letter Q. Queue, a French borrowing with the literal meaning of â€Å"tail,† is sometimes spelled cue in the context of hair: cue/queue: A long roll or plait of hair worn hanging down behind like a tail, from the head or from a wig; a pigtail. The expression â€Å"to take one’s cue† is from the figurative use of a theatrical term: cue: The concluding word or words of a speech in a play, serving as a signal or direction to another actor to enter, or begin his speech. The OED lists several historical spellings of cue in the sense of an actor’s signal, but the list does not include the spelling queue: kew, ku, quew, q, quue, que, Q, qu, kue. The word is spelled cue in A Midsummer’s Dream (1600); Bottom the Weaver is bossing his fellow actors: Curst be thy stones, for thus deceiuing mee. [deceiving me]. Deceiuing mee is Thisbyes cue: she is to enter now, and I am to spy Her through the wall. In British usage, a queue is a line of people or vehicles waiting to proceed or be served. In computer use, a queue is a list of data items or commands that are attended to in a certain order, such as a queue of documents waiting to be printed. Next time you have occasion to write the expression â€Å"take one’s cue,† take your cue from this article and remember to spell it cue. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcIs There a Reason â€Å"the Reason Why† Is Considered Wrong?1,462 Basic Plot Types

Analysis of Audi's Human Resource Practices Essay

Analysis of Audi's Human Resource Practices - Essay Example There are numerous definitions by scholars on what organizational culture is. Two of these definitions are as follows: Ravasi and Schultz (2006) wrote ‘organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions that guide what happens in organizations by defining appropriate behavior for various situations’. Needle (2004), ‘Organizational culture signifies the beliefs, collective values, and principles of members in an organization’. Culture includes the organizations values, norms, systems, vision, language, symbols, beliefs, assumptions, and habits. The culture of organizations makes it unique and different from other organizations. It explains why there are many companies that deal with automobiles, producing the same products and make of cars but which are completely different due to their operations, values and their executions. Denison’s model (1990) states that ‘organizational culture is described by 4 general dimensions: Adaptability, Consistency, Involvement, and Mission’. The model shall be used to explain Audi’s culture. An organization’s mission refers to its reason of existence. The reason as to why it was founded and the objectives it aims to achieve. Denison further divided the mission into three: Vision, Strategic Direction and Intent, and Goals and Objectives. Audi’s Vision is ‘To develop Audi into the world’s leading brand in the premium automobile segment’ (Audi Corporate strategy, 2015). The vision defines Audi’s culture because it portrays the direction which it wants the company to go. As a result the personnel work towards making this vision a reality. They manufacture cars that are of good quality and that meet their consumers’ demand, which shall make it become the best brand of all the other automobile manufacturers in the world. The strategic direction and intent of Audi is to delight customers worldwide. They aim at achieving this by being innovative, creating experiences for