Paper 3, Section II, A
Part II, 2019
(a) Derive the wave equation for perturbation pressure for linearised sound waves in a compressible gas.
(b) For a single plane wave show that the perturbation pressure and the velocity are linearly proportional and find the constant of proportionality, i.e. the acoustic impedance.
(c) Gas occupies a tube lying parallel to the -axis. In the regions and the gas has uniform density and sound speed . For the temperature of the gas has been adjusted so that it has uniform density and sound speed . A harmonic plane wave with frequency and unit amplitude is incident from . If is the (in general complex) amplitude of the wave transmitted into , show that
where and . Discuss both of the limits and .