The Science of Sound: From Acoustics to Psychoacoustics

Ever wonder how sound actually works?

It all starts with vibrations.

When something moves—like a guitar string or vocal cord—it pushes air molecules, creating waves.

These waves travel through air, water, or solids until they reach your ear.

That’s acoustics: the physics of sound.

But what happens next is where things get even more interesting.

Inside your ear, those waves hit the eardrum, which vibrates and sends signals through tiny bones to the

cochlea.

The cochlea is filled with fluid and hair cells that convert vibrations into electrical signals.

These signals travel to your brain, where they’re interpreted as sound.

But here’s the twist: your brain doesn’t just hear—it interprets.

Enter psychoacoustics—the study of how we perceive sound.

Your brain fills in gaps, emphasizes certain frequencies, and even creates sounds that aren’t there.

Ever heard your name in a noisy room?

That’s your brain filtering and prioritizing.

It’s not just hearing—it’s perception, shaped by memory, attention, and even emotion.

Sound can trick you.

The Shepard tone seems to rise forever.

The McGurk effect makes you hear different sounds based on lip movement.

These illusions reveal how much your brain shapes what you hear.

So next time you listen to music or a voice, remember: your ears collect sound, but your brain

makes it real.