acoustic impedance
acoustic impedance, absorption of sound in a medium, equal to the ratio of the sound pressure at a boundary surface to the sound flux (flow velocity of the particles or volume velocity, times area) through the surface. In analogy to electrical circuit theory, pressure corresponds to voltage, volume velocity to current, and acoustic impedance is expressed as a complex number, the real part being referred to as the resistance and the imaginary part the reactance.
Citation Information
Article Title:
acoustic impedance
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
27 December 2017
Access Date:
February 23, 2025