Sound pressure

Sound pressure is the local deviation from static pressure caused by a sound wave traveling through a medium. It varies over time and position as the wave passes.

Acoustic wave: A mechanical disturbance that propagates through a medium by oscillating its particles. Sound pressure is the pressure component of this broader kind of propagating disturbance.
Static pressure: The ambient pressure of a fluid when acoustic fluctuations are excluded. Sound pressure is defined as a deviation from this baseline.
Microphone: A transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones sense sound-induced pressure variations at a location.
Sound power: The total rate at which a source emits acoustic energy. Unlike sound pressure, sound power characterizes source output rather than pressure at a location.
Particle velocity: The oscillatory velocity of medium particles as an acoustic wave passes. It accompanies pressure variation and helps determine acoustic energy flow.
Pressure: Force exerted per unit area by a fluid or other material. Sound pressure is a time-varying instance of pressure.
Sound level meter: An instrument that measures sound levels, commonly reporting sound pressure level in decibels. Its readings derive from measured acoustic pressure over a defined time weighting.
Sound intensity level: A logarithmic measure of acoustic intensity relative to a reference intensity. It represents energy flow per area, not pressure fluctuation alone.
Acoustic impedance: The ratio of acoustic pressure to particle velocity for a wave or acoustic system. It relates sound pressure to particle motion in a given medium.
Amplitude: The maximum magnitude of an oscillating quantity measured from its equilibrium value. Sound-pressure amplitude describes the size of pressure fluctuations.

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