In a way you're right, but at ambient intensities, the vast majority get interfered into obliteration.. Resonant frequencies however will stand out.. Any space will have natural frequencies dependant on the placement of walls etc.. Audio engineers design rooms accoustically based on principles like these.. Harmonics, and harmony now come into play.. Thats why ppl pay so much to rent recording studios when modern software can mimick the equipment..
These things are explained by resonance and standing waves, and to some extent Fourier analysis.. Now Fourier transforms can be some of the toughest math out there, but alot of sites explain it pretty well in near laymans terms.. If you learn a bit about resonance/standing waves (or already know that stuff) then you should be able to get the conceptual gist of Fourier transfoerms.. His work is the backbone of signal processing, but also goes waaay beyond that..

I'm about at the extent of my comfort level.. I haven't done much nitty gritty work with waves in a long time..
I gotta stress again though the convenience of learning the math principles behind this.. When you got that down it gets really easy to learn all kinds of concepts because its hilarious how many physical systems obey a few basic models.. Actually, a major concept in modern/quantum physics is that waves can be used to describe EVERYTHING!! (Read up on deBroglie if interested in that)..
And on a more practical level, all those things I used to analogize, like springs, microwaves, TV/radio, cars in driveways, engine vibration and on, and on and on, can be properly modeled and explained with the same basics.. Wave mechanics are like the arithmetic of the universe..

I liked that when I typed it too.. I was thinking about Einstein's quote "If mathematics are the language of the universe, then algabra is the language of God.."

Originally Posted by Palladyne

I see it differently. It's those audible frequencies that I believe exist at all times and not their relationship to each other. The musicians just create the anomaly by which we can hear them. (I am also a musician and it's not so painstaking because it is so pleasing a thing to do.)

Another example is this: The spectrum for any frequency exists at all times. e.g., ~630 Nm. Our friend, Nick Holonyak Jr., just invented the anomaly (the red LED) which provides us with another proof that it exists in Nature.

That's all kind of a "Zen" way of thinking about it and there are many examples of such thinking. For example, we think of time as past, present and future. We think of the past as what has happened, the present as what's now happening and the future as what's going to happen. But, there is a "reality" to it. For example, there is no present. It exists only as a concept...it has no dimension. It's the demarcation between the past and future. It's like the geometric concept of a line which has only length. The minute you draw a line, it's a solid object with width and thickness. The past is fixed and unchangeable and, since the future will become the past, it's also fixed and unchangeable. We like to fool ourselves into thinking that the things we do can change the future but, in fact they only serve to ensure it.

Your concept of frequencies and wavelengths already existing and only needing to be "expressed" is really the same as saying that you need to do the actions needed to make them happen like everybody else thinks of them.

You can be as, Zen-like as you want when thinking LEDs. Certainly, the constituent parts of a red LED (the gallium and arsenic and plastics and copper and tin, etc.) have all been around as long as the universe and so are composed (ultimately) of primordial hydrogen. But, that line of reasoning, while it might be a clever mental exercise, isn't really very practical. At least for someone trying to build practical LEDs.

As regards the drudgery vs. pleasure of practicing music, at the level of Carnegie Hall orchestras, believe me, it's a serious and competitive job for those guys. The New York visitor asked a local, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer, "Practice, practice, practice".

I don't know what kind of music you play but, if you don't practice, practice practice, it's probably not all that good.

I do have to say that I'm always on the lookout for bits and pieces of music I can use (not professionally so get those $ out of your eyes) for things like background on my YouTube videos and the like. No, I'm not looking for the (c)rap, acid, metal or "screaming lead" stuff. So, if you have a selection of pieces that you'd just like to have heard on occasion, let me know.

Originally Posted by notauser

I'm about at the extent of my comfort level.. I haven't done much nitty gritty work with waves in a long time..
I gotta stress again though the convenience of learning the math principles behind this..

I fully realize that there are limits that I can take these things in forums such as this. Especially, being the proverbial math moron I am. But, I appreciate your input and analysis. I do have to confess that I had hoped to beat down, to the lowest common denominator that I need for understanding, the answer to the post topic.

We've re-affirmed, over and over that sound does indeed propagate but...not why or how. I am not convinced that there isn't a simplified, verbal, non-mathematically entangled rendition that will at least give a reasonable conceptual answer.

As regards me becoming a math wizard. Sure, both me and the cat.

Per "flowery prose"...there is a language of God...and, it aint, algebra. And, it aint pretty...

Resonance, Simple harmonic motion, and restoring forces.. Read up on that and it may dawn on you that I've explained how/why..

Originally Posted by killivolt

Simple Harmonic Motion | Sounds Amazing | AS/A Level Physics Revision | University of Salford - A Greater Manchester University


Ok, so what it's simple. But the math is incredibly difficult when applied to other Models.

It's worse than that, kv (and, notauser). Yes, that link is a good and simple description (complete with animated examples) and it makes a nice remedial review of the kinds of stuff people in electronics deal with all the time (remedial even for me!). But, while it does a fine job of explaining:

Originally Posted by notauser

Resonance, Simple harmonic motion, and restoring forces.. Read up on that and it may dawn on you that I've explained how/why..

it does absolutely nothing to explain why the effect propagates. Even all of the examples are in fixed space with no hint, in verbage or graphics, of it so much as having even a tendency to "go anywhere", much less a mechanism for how it might propagate, as sonic energy, through a medium such as air.

In other words, it makes no attempt to answer the question I posed in this thread. So, no. It hasn't "dawned" on me.

Originally Posted by killivolt

So, I might be asking the question, who are the people we would like to attract to the site + who would benefit most from this site.

This is not a physics forum but the need for such learning exists for any Burgeoning Engineers. Which is maybe why he didn't shut it down.

I couldn't agree more. And, that's what drew me to this site rather than a "physics forum". The notion that the people here are electronics first and physics second and thus have more of an appreciation for the nuts and bolts and practical aspects of it.

BTW: You've already built a Van de Graf generator. It's just that it looked less like a piece of lab equipment and more like a piece of carpet, a pair of rubber-soled shoes and a brass door knob. Actually, with the new anti-static carpet treatments, it's very possible (depending on how old you are), that you may not have ever built the accidental, impromptu Van de Graf machine.