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Natural Science Forum / Physics / Acoustics / September 2004



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A Proof For No Doppler In a Tube

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Bob Cain - 02 Sep 2004 03:24 GMT
I will show that in a tube any piston velocity function will
be exactly transcribed (i.e., without distortion of any
kind) to a propegating wave.

(0) Given:

http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Piston_collisions.htm

Then:

(1) The piston can, by superposition of step functions,
    create any piecewise constant propegating velocity
    wave with the same shape in time as that of the
    piston velocity.

(2) It can thus create a propegating Harr wavelet at any
    magnitude, scaling and translation or any superpositon
    of them.

(3) A proof exists here:

http://amath.colorado.edu/courses/4720/2000Spr/Labs/Haar/haar.html

that from (2) it can produce any smooth propegating
velocity function whatsoever and from (1) it will
be exactly the same as the motion of the piston.

Q.E.D

Thus, however Doppler mixing is happening, it is _not_
happening at the piston/air interface.

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
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                                             A. Einstein

Art Ludwig - 02 Sep 2004 14:48 GMT
Bob Cain has posted a "proof" that Doppler distortion doesn't exist for a
piston vibrating in a tube. A standard test of audio equipment is its
square-wave response, so let's test Bobs proof with a 500 Hz square-wave.
Our piston velocity profile is a constant positive velocity for 1
millisecond, followed by a constant negative velocity of equal magnitude for
1ms. The piston moves between x=0 and x=1cm.

At t=0 the piston launches the leading edge of a pulse from its position at
x=0, and the pulse starts moving down the tube at the velocity of sound, 344
m/s. At t=1ms the piston is at x=1cm and launches the trailing edge of the
pulse. Freeze-frame at this instant. The leading edge has traveled down the
tube to the point x=34.4 cm. The trailing edge is at x=1cm. The width of the
positive part of the pulse is therefore 33.4 cm. The pulse will continue to
travel down the tube at the speed of sound without changing its contour, so
this width will remain constant.

At t=2ms the piston is back at x=0, and launches another leading edge.
Freeze-frame again. The original leading edge is now at x=68.8 cm, the
trailing edge at 35.4 cm, and the new leading edge at x=0. The wavelength of
one complete cycle of our square wave is 68.8cm (and that would be the same
it the piston moved 1mm or 1cm). But the length of the positive part of the
pulse is 33.4 cm and the length of the negative part is 35.4 cm.

Our test microphone down the tube records this sound wave moving past the
mike at the speed of sound. We record a time signal that our oscilloscope
shows as a positive pulse .9709 ms long, followed by a negative pulse 1.0291
ms long. We send this signal to our spectrum analyzer: oops! Its not the
correct spectrum for a perfect square-wave! We turn down the volume so the
piston velocity profile is still a 500Hz square-wave, but it is only moving
.01mm. Aha, now the oscilloscope shows almost equal widths of the positive
and negative part of the pulse and we get a nearly perfect square-wave
spectrum. As we crank the volume up however the spectrum changes.

If the frequency spectrum changes as a function of the volume level, that's
distortion in my book.

Final test report: System exhibits severe Doppler distortion.
Art Ludwig - 02 Sep 2004 16:26 GMT
P.S.  I realize that someone is going to say that my example involves a
piston traveling at a constant velocity, and of course you get Doppler
distortion in that case.  So this P.S. is to point out that you can make
exactly the same argument for a triangle wave.  The vertices of the
triangles take the place of leading an trailing edges.  It's also true for a
sine wave, or any other wave; the landmarks and timing are just harder to
describe.
Bob Cain - 02 Sep 2004 19:20 GMT
Thanks, Art.  Yours is a challenge to step (1) of my proof,
which says that velocity step superposition causes pulses of
the piston to be transcribed to the air as piecewise
constant waves having the same time between edges as the
piston and the same piecewise constant magnitude.  I will
study it to see if I can refute it or support it and get
back one way or the other.  I very much appreciate your
addressing it.

Bob

> Bob Cain has posted a "proof" that Doppler distortion doesn't exist for a
> piston vibrating in a tube. A standard test of audio equipment is its
> square-wave response, so let's test Bobs proof with a 500 Hz square-wave.
> Our piston velocity profile is a constant positive velocity for 1
> millisecond, followed by a constant negative velocity of equal magnitude for
> 1ms. The piston moves between x=0 and x=1cm.
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Bob Cain - 03 Sep 2004 03:55 GMT
I withdraw the proof.  It is flawed.  In considering your
challenge I realized that my proof begins with an
unrealistic assumption which allows no conclusions to be
drawn, much less a proof of anything.  The flaw is that I
began with:
 http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Piston_collisions.htm

having a value of zero for delta-t.  For any medium with
non-zero mass density that requires infinite force to
achieve a step change in velocity.  Obviously, nothing that
follows from the assumption of a step change in velocity can
be valid for a system that disallows that.

Back to the drawing board.

Thanks,

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
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Bob Cain - 03 Sep 2004 05:16 GMT
> The flaw is that I began with:
>
>  http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Piston_collisions.htm
>
> having a value of zero for delta-t.  

Make that zero for delta-x.

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

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Angelo Campanella - 06 Sep 2004 04:36 GMT
> Our test microphone down the tube records this sound wave moving past the
> mike at the speed of sound. We record a time signal that our oscilloscope
> shows as a positive pulse .9709 ms long, followed by a negative pulse 1.0291
> ms long. We send this signal to our spectrum analyzer: oops! Its not the

I'm not following the qualities your example. Is this a measurement you
actually made, or is it a hypothesized scenario?

> correct spectrum for a perfect square-wave! We turn down the volume so the
> piston velocity profile is still a 500Hz square-wave, but it is only moving
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> If the frequency spectrum changes as a function of the volume level, that's
> distortion in my book.

True. This is called "finite amplitude distortion" (FAD). If the
pressure amplitude is high enough, the pressure peaks travel faster than
the pressure valleys. The final wave is always a saw tooth wave,
regardless of the input. A sine wave is often used, as with it, the
picture of peaks advancing and sharpening while catching up to the
valleys is clearest.

> Final test report: System exhibits severe Doppler distortion.

The Doppler effect is a different phenomenon. I suppose one could
superpose a high frequency on a low frequency wave as discussed before.

An explanation would be that while the the piston advances according to
the low frequency wave, it will be accelerating a series of several
small waves, advancing their phase and thus frequency.

But I have to say that the doppler effect and the FAD are two separate
entities, one linear (Doppler), the other nonlinear (FAD). The term
"nonlinear" in the FAD case is appropriate since for a captive parcel of
gas, the P-V curve is not a straight line, rather it is an hyperbola.

Angelo Campanella
Art Ludwig - 06 Sep 2004 18:52 GMT
Hi Angelo:

> > Our test microphone [...snip]

> I'm not following the qualities your example. Is this a measurement you
> actually made, or is it a hypothesized scenario?

It is a mental experiment.

[more snips]> >

> > If the frequency spectrum changes as a function of the volume level, that's
> > distortion in my book.

> True. This is called "finite amplitude distortion" (FAD). If the
> pressure amplitude is high enough, the pressure peaks travel faster than
> the pressure valleys. The final wave is always a saw tooth wave,
> regardless of the input. A sine wave is often used, as with it, the
> picture of peaks advancing and sharpening while catching up to the
> valleys is clearest.

My "experiment" does not involve FAD.  Once the wave is launched, the peaks
and valleys maintain exactly the same spatial relationship as they continue
down the tube.  I'm talking about an effect that occurs when the air is
totally linear, and the effect is due simply to the position of the piston
when the wave is generated

> > Final test report: System exhibits severe Doppler distortion.
>
> The Doppler effect is a different phenomenon. I suppose one could
> superpose a high frequency on a low frequency wave as discussed before.

Personally I hate to get bogged down in semantics.  If the signal coming out
of the speaker is different than the electrical signal going in, I call it
distortion.

My "experiment" (I hoped) is a way for people who are not physicists or
mathematicians to understand what is going on.  The real proof of Doppler
distortion, or whatever you want to call it, is given on my web site
http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Exact_piston/dopdist.htm
There I derive an exact boundary-value solution to the problem. An exact
boundary-value solution is the gold standard in physics.  Even if you don't
get into the details of my solution, I start out by demonstrating that an
undistorted sine wave is not a valid solution, despite the fact that the air
is perfectly linear, and the piston is moving in a perfect sinusoidal
motion.  This by itself proves the existence of distortion.  The remainder
of the derivation simply quantifies the distortion.
Art Ludwig
P.S. I sincerely hope that this is my last post, and even if provoked (I
don't mean you, Angelo), I will probably not reply.  The only exception I
would make is that I would participate in further discussion of my
boundary-value solution.
Bob Cain - 06 Sep 2004 22:22 GMT
> P.S. I sincerely hope that this is my last post, and even if provoked (I
> don't mean you, Angelo), I will probably not reply.  The only exception I
> would make is that I would participate in further discussion of my
> boundary-value solution.

Art, I find that your equation (5) has no solutions other
than when v=0 or w=0.  Otherwise, no set of a and b
coeficients can yield the pure sinusoid on the left.

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

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Art Ludwig - 06 Sep 2004 23:06 GMT
> Art, I find that your equation (5) has no solutions other
> than when v=0 or w=0.  Otherwise, no set of a and b
> coeficients can yield the pure sinusoid on the left.
>
> Bob
Man I love it!  An actual real honest technical question completely free of
invective.  (That may sound like I'm being sarcastic, but I am quite
sincere).  OK.
If v=0 then all the coefficients are zero.  That is the solution for that
case.  If v>0 then there is set of coefficients that solves the equation.
In fact I sent you my Matlab program that generates solutions to this
equation.  You don't need to believe my program.  You can program your own
version of my equation (5) and plug in my solution values to verify them.
Art
Bob Cain - 07 Sep 2004 07:54 GMT
>>Art, I find that your equation (5) has no solutions other
>>than when v=0 or w=0.  Otherwise, no set of a and b
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> invective.  (That may sound like I'm being sarcastic, but I am quite
> sincere).  OK.

Heavy sigh. If anyone would but look at the the threads I
started on this topic other than the ones with the
inflamatory subjects, it should be more than apparent that
that is all I ever wanted here.  I really don't understand
the protocol here at all.  I sincerely hope that from here
on out it can stay at a level appropriate to learned
professionals.

One shouldn't need to know enough in order to come here that
he doesnt't need to come here at all.  Running a gauntlet of
insult is not helpful to anyone.

OK, enough of all that, lets roll.

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

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Art Ludwig - 07 Sep 2004 00:48 GMT
> Art, I find that your equation (5) has no solutions other
> than when v=0 or w=0.  Otherwise, no set of a and b
> coeficients can yield the pure sinusoid on the left.

I received a private communication requesting clarification of my boundary
value solution. The purpose of my equation (5) is to obtain the coefficients
that solve the boundary value problem. Once those coefficients are obtained,
then they are used in my equation (4) to give the solution for the wave in
the tube at any time and at any place in front of the piston.

Anyone with a spreadsheet can program my equation (5) and verify that the
set of coefficients below is a solution. In Matlab this solution is accurate
to 2 parts in 10^14. Adding more terms would increase the accuracy, but this
is close enough for government work.

v=10 meters/sec, c=344 meters/sec, omega=2*pi*100

b0 = -0.14534883720930

n                                           an                          bn

1.00000000000000 9.99683124329033 0.00000000000000

2.00000000000000 0.00000000000000 -0.14526696535919

3.00000000000000 -0.00316643279050 0.00000000000000

4.00000000000000 0.00000000000000 0.00008180181848

5.00000000000000 0.00000232171944 0.00000000000000

6.00000000000000 0.00000000000000 -0.00000006996041

7.00000000000000 -0.00000000219738 0.00000000000000

8.00000000000000 0.00000000000000 0.00000000007115

9.00000000000000 0.00000000000236 0.00000000000000

10.00000000000000 0.00000000000000 -0.00000000000008
Bob Cain - 07 Sep 2004 07:54 GMT
> I received a private communication requesting clarification of my boundary
> value solution. The purpose of my equation (5) is to obtain the coefficients
> that solve the boundary value problem. Once those coefficients are obtained,
> then they are used in my equation (4) to give the solution for the wave in
> the tube at any time and at any place in front of the piston.

Art,

I have verified with my own Matlab calculation that, with
the coeficients you gave here and v=10, a pure sin of
magnitude 10 and any frequency can be _extremely_ well
approimated by (4).  That does certainly surprise (and
impress) me but I like surprises like that.  The particular
value of those coeficients depends on the magnitude v of the
sin being approximated but are independant of frequency.

What I am understanding you to say, then, is that for any
sinusoidal oscillation of the piston, an approximation to it
can be found algorithmically which uses (5) as the basis
function and further that the coeficients of that basis
determine the spectrum of the propegated wave according to
(4).  The coeficients depend only on the magnitude of the
sinusoid and not its frequency.  Correct?

With those coeficients (4) does not converge to (5) for x=0
as required.  Can you reconcile that?

The b0 component adds a DC offset to (4) which vanishes when
calculating (5) with your coeficients.  You have said
elsewhere that purely alternating oscilation of a piston in
a tube produces a DC air current. That seems to me to be a
matter generator but we shall see.

> In Matlab this solution is accurate
> to 2 parts in 10^14. Adding more terms would increase the accuracy, but this
> is close enough for government work.
>
> v=10 meters/sec, c=344 meters/sec, omega=2*pi*100

Ok, you've asserted equations that predicts exactly what
distortion components should be seen for any sinusoidal
driving function as well as a prediction that the spectral
components of the measurement should scale exactly with
frequency so long as magnitude is held constant.  That is a
_big_ step over what has gone before because it yields
definite predictions that a well designed experiment, free
of other distortion mechanisms can verify.  I do hope that
is being done and that an unequivocal protocol is used that
is not too terribly difficult or expensive to duplicate.

The calculation of these coeficients doesn't seem to depend
on the geometry of the Tx and Rx, including separation, and
should apply equally in the tube or free standing and at
sundry separations.  This is a prediction that should be
tested by the same experiment.

What I would like to see, of course, is a derivation of (5)
and the algorithm that produces the coeficients based on
first acoustic principles and accepted mathematical
procedure.  It is well and good to postulate a basis
function and a purely mathematical algorithm for making it
fit the driving function but it is a leap from there to why
those same coeficients via (4) yield the acoustic prediction
they do.  I can see awaiting experimental confirmation
before attempting that if it is in the offing.

Thanks,

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
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Bob Cain - 07 Sep 2004 08:48 GMT
> I have verified with my own Matlab calculation that, with the
> coeficients you gave here and v=10, a pure sin of magnitude 10 and any
> frequency can be _extremely_ well approimated by (4).

Aargh.  Of course I meant "by (5)."

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

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Art Ludwig - 07 Sep 2004 16:39 GMT
Hi Bob:
Lots of snips, I won't bother to indicate them all

> I have verified with my own Matlab calculation that, with
> the coeficients you gave here and v=10, a pure sin of
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> (4).  The coeficients depend only on the magnitude of the
> sinusoid and not its frequency.  Correct?

For the single frequency case that is basically correct.  By the way, the
Matlab version I sent you loses accuracy for high frequency, but that is
just due to the fact that I set it up to work for a frequency of 1Hz.  I
have a revised version that works with high accuuracy at any frequency.  The
only quibble I have is your use of the word "approximation"  My equations
(4) and (5) are intended to represent the initial terms of an infinite
series, and in the limit of an infinite number ot terms they are exact, not
approximate.  This is no different than the situation with a Fourier series.

> With those coeficients (4) does not converge to (5) for x=0
> as required.  Can you reconcile that?

Yes, that is the whole point!!!!  It's supposed to converge to the piston
velocity at the piston face.  Equation (4) not only "converges" to (5) where
it is supposed to, it is exactly equal to equation (5) at the piston face.
That is precisely how the bondary value solution is set up.

> The b0 component adds a DC offset to (4) which vanishes when
> calculating (5) with your coeficients.  You have said
> elsewhere that purely alternating oscilation of a piston in
> a tube produces a DC air current. That seems to me to be a
> matter generator but we shall see.

No, it doen't vanish.  the b0 term is in both equations.  And contrary to
being a matter generator, I originally predicted that this term must exist
precisely to conserve matter.  If you follow my link on the my web site
there is a full explanation of this.

> What I would like to see, of course, is a derivation of (5)
> and the algorithm that produces the coeficients based on
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> they do.  I can see awaiting experimental confirmation
> before attempting that if it is in the offing.

If the wave equation is not "first acoustic principles" what is???  It is an
absolutely standard practice in physics to postulate the form of a solution,
as I do in  equation (5), and then verify that it satisfies the boundary
conditions. You  seem to make a big deal out of the fact that I solve the
equation numerically instead of analytically.  So what?  I could solve the
equation analytically if I wanted to spend the time, but what is gained?
Its obvious that it simply involves lots of mindless expansions and equating
like terms, and I am happy to let Matlab do the work for me.

I am spending a lot of time on these posts, and I would like to believe that
it is of benefit to someone besides Bob.  To quote Pink Floyd, "Is anybody
out there?"
Chris Whealy - 07 Sep 2004 17:02 GMT
> I am spending a lot of time on these posts, and I would like to believe that
> it is of benefit to someone besides Bob.  To quote Pink Floyd, "Is anybody
> out there?"

Yes Art. I've been following this thread (in its various manifestations
in various NG's) but I have not been able to study the physics as
closely as I would like...  I'm really busy at the moment, and I
shouldn't really be spending time posting on NG's...

Art and Bob, despite the ups and downs, you do seem to be making good
progress in this discussion now - you're not just "bricks in the wall"

:-)

Chris W

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Bob Cain - 08 Sep 2004 00:19 GMT
> My equations
> (4) and (5) are intended to represent the initial terms of an infinite
> series, and in the limit of an infinite number ot terms they are exact, not
> approximate.  This is no different than the situation with a Fourier series.

Understood.  I'll just accept that the terms on the rhs of
(5) are an appropriate basis for an infinite expansion of a
sinusoid.  I wouldn't have believed that on inspection
(because I can't see yet how either of the summation terms
can have a DC component to cancel b0) but you've clearly
proved it by example and I'll believe you can do it again
for any v.

>>With those coeficients (4) does not converge to (5) for x=0
>>as required.  Can you reconcile that?
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> it is supposed to, it is exactly equal to equation (5) at the piston face.
> That is precisely how the bondary value solution is set up.

I can't buy that at an infinitessimal dx beyond the piston
(4) applies but exactly at the piston suddenly a pure
sinusoid applies.  It says that the air at the piston face
moves differently than the piston does.  That kind of a
discontinuity is just not reasonable nor is it allowed by
the wave equation.

> No, it doen't vanish.  the b0 term is in both equations.  And contrary to
> being a matter generator, I originally predicted that this term must exist
> precisely to conserve matter.  If you follow my link on the my web site
> there is a full explanation of this.

Agreed that the coeficient doesn't vanish, but in (5) any DC
component it might seem to imply does vanish whereas in (4)
it doesn't because all the components of (4) are orthogonal.

That the basis set chosen for (5) is not orthogonal is what
allows b0 to be cancelled whether I like it or not.

If there is a DC flow of air down the tube, as (4) clearly
states, and there is no drift of the piston, as (5) clearly
states then matter is being created.  I don't need to
examine any explanation to know the truth of this.  One need
not examine any process in the tube, only boundry condtions
to see that it violates conservation of mass for a
non-drifting, non-leaking piston to produce a net flow of
mass down a tube and that's what (4) and (5) together state.

> If the wave equation is not "first acoustic principles" what is???  

That's not where you started.  You have postulated (4), (5)
and an algorithm, taken together, as axioms (without proof,
that is) and predicted results as a consequence of the
axioms.  The wave equation doesn't enter into those axioms
at all except at the point of piston/air interface and the
discontinuity there says that the wave equation is violated
at that point.

> It is an
> absolutely standard practice in physics to postulate the form of a solution,
> as I do in  equation (5), and then verify that it satisfies the boundary
> conditions.

Which it doesn't at the piston/air interface.

I agree that there is a long history in science of
postulating equations that fit a phenomenon rather than
deriving them when new physics is required to do that.  I
don't think there is any new physics hiding in this problem.

Theoretical issues aside, the question here is whether a
properly designed experiment validates all the predictions
that arise from your conjecture.  If they do then there will
of course be motivation to derive them rather than postulate
them.

The predictions I see are:

  1) The spectral content of (4) will be measured by an
     omnidirectional microphone when using the coeficients
     for (5) that give the piston motion defined on its lhs
     for any v for which they are calculated.

  2) For any v the spectral content of the wave will scale
     with frequency as predicted by (4).

  3) The same results will obtain whether the measurement is
     done with a piston in a tube, a free standing piston, a
     piston in a baffle or any other configuration.

  4) Except for an appropriate delay the results are
     independant of the separation between piston and
     microphone in any configuration.

3) and 4) are a consequence of configuration entering
nowhere into your conjecture.

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
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Art Ludwig - 08 Sep 2004 00:55 GMT
I am out of patience.  The math speaks for itself, and I am no longer going
to participate in this discussion.
Bob Cain - 08 Sep 2004 02:53 GMT
> I am out of patience.  The math speaks for itself, and I am no longer going
> to participate in this discussion.

Which also speaks for itself.

Bob
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"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
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The Ghost - 09 Sep 2004 01:39 GMT
> > I am out of patience.  The math speaks for itself, and I am no longer going
> > to participate in this discussion.
>
> Which also speaks for itself.
> Bob

Who the hell do you think you are?  You come to this newsgroup asking
knowledgeable professional scientists and engineers for their
opinions, but     because you don't like what you are told, because
you are too technically inept to understand what you are told and
because you are too arrogant to accept that you are worng, you go on a
rampage.  First you unleash against me one of the most slanderous and
foul-mouthed diatribes yet.  Next you tell Ang, a
nationally-recognized acoustics consultant to f.ck off.  And, if that
weren't enough, you thank Art Ludwig, a well-respected
physicist/mathematician, for all of the work that he has done at your
request, by publicly spitting in his face.  Clearly, you have no
dignity, self respect or integrity. You are a despicable human being,
and you epitomize what it means to be a contemptible piece of human
waste.
The Ghost - 08 Sep 2004 01:20 GMT
atlab do the work for me.

> I am spending a lot of time on these posts, and I would like to believe that
> it is of benefit to someone besides Bob.  To quote Pink Floyd, "Is anybody
> out there?"

I think it is safe to say that there are two groups "out there."  One
group consists mostly of the audio people who are incapable of
understanding either the concepts, the math, or both.  The other group
consists mostly of technically-competent scientists and engineers who
understand what you have done and accept your results, but don't have
any questions at this time.  The natural result is mostly silence from
both groups, but for different reasons.
Angelo Campanella - 09 Sep 2004 07:59 GMT
> It is a mental experiment.
>  My "experiment" does not involve FAD.  Once the wave is launched, the peaks

On closer scrutiny... noting for instance that a harmonic is predicted
that is some 80 dB down from the fundamental, It is easy to see
intuitively that the slight curvature of the pressure vs volume curve
(an hyperbola) is enough to cause this, owing to the precision  of your
math model.... good thinking.

> and valleys maintain exactly the same spatial relationship as they continue
> down the tube.  I'm talking about an effect that occurs when the air is
> totally linear, and the effect is due simply to the position of the piston
> when the wave is generated

In
> http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Exact_piston/dopdist.htm
I'm looking for a clear representation of the doppler effect. The side
bands should be in a clear pattern otherwise known to be associated with
frequency modulation. Do I see that in your Equation (8)? Perhaps in (7)?

> Personally I hate to get bogged down in semantics.  If the signal coming out
> of the speaker is different than the electrical signal going in, I call it
> distortion.

Good point. Though others might also call it modulation. In the case of
audio sounds emitted by a loudspeaker, it is fair to use distortion
since it detracts from perfect reproduction.

> undistorted sine wave is not a valid solution, despite the fact that the air
> is perfectly linear, and the piston is moving in a perfect sinusoidal

That is due to the pressure-volume curvature, I think.
Your citing the apparent superior clarity of the large surface
electrostatic loudspeaker is very important. If true, then we will see a
decided shift to such units for all sound reproduction above 1 kHz
(where clarity and intelligibility are really evident and important.

> P.S. I sincerely hope that this is my last post, and even if provoked (I
> don't mean you, Angelo), I will probably not reply.  The only exception I
> would make is that I would participate in further discussion of my
> boundary-value solution.

Just relax for a while; give the world a chance to catch up to you!

Ang. C.
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Art Ludwig - 09 Sep 2004 17:55 GMT
> Just relax for a while; give the world a chance to catch up to you!

Hi Angelo:  Good advice.
I have posted a plot of the harmonics generated in the case of a single
frequency here

http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Exact_piston/ddist1.gif

and in the case of two frequencies here

http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Exact_piston/ddist2.gif

Finally here is a plot of the piston position vs. time for one  cycle at the
low frequency, for the two frequency case

http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Physics/Exact_piston/Dopdistvp.gif

There are actually two curves in the last figure: black is the piston
velocity, and red is the sound wave velocity at the piston face.  The
required boundary condition is that the two curves agree.  Obviously they
do.

I really wish this were not called "Doppler distortion" because it raises
all kinds of irrelevant arguments.  What it has in common with the Doppler
effect is that it can be modeled as a phase modulation due to the cone
position, or FM due to the cone velocity.  (Either approach gives the same
result).  The conventional Doppler effect can also be derived as a phase
modulation: phase shift is a linear function of time for a constant relative
velocity.   However the conventional Doppler effect derivation is only valid
for a constant relative velocity; it is not necessarily valid when there is
accelerated motion.  In any case, I think the effect for a loudspeaker
should be analyzed for what it is, without worrying too much about how it
compares with train whistles.

Regarding experimental confirmation, this distortion is directly
proportional to the high frequency; ordinary quadratic distortion is
independent of the high frequency.  Ordinary quadratic distortion is
directly proportional to the ampitude of the high frequency; this distortion
is independent of the amplitude of the high frequency.  In all cases I am
refering to the magnitude of the sidebands around the high frequency,
relative to the fundemantal magnitude at the high frequency.  This very
clear distinction should make experimental proof very solid.  I hope to see
some experimental data in the near future.
 
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