Sound waves(The behavior of soundboards)

[Ron Nossaman]

>
> Hmmmm. Seems to me that the visible wave represents one aspect of wave motion
> and the actual sound we could hear if we stuck our heads underwater would
> represent another aspect of the whole induced motion thing.
> Joseph Alkana  RPT


Joseph,
Certainly, but what induces the motion in the first place? Will a compression
wave introduced directly into the water at a molecular level without displacing
water make ripples like a tossed in rock? The wave produced will be a
compression wave, and travel at the speed of sound in water, not a transverse
surface wave traveling much more slowly  because it won't displace water like a
rock in a pond, or the soundboard surface like a string moved bridge in a
piano.

Some mass in an elastic membrane has to be displaced perpendicular to the plane
of the membrane to get a transverse wave. I know how the moving mass of the
rock or string does it, but how would a molecular level compression wave do
that? That's the question.

Ron N