The process by which air molecules surrounding the sound board of a musical instrument uncompress when the sound board flexes back after a compression, causing a slight decrease in air pressure See Section 1 3
The negative portion of a sound wave in which the air particles are spread apart
In a compressional (logitudinal) wave, it's the part of the wave that is "stretched out" Click here to see a rarefaction picture Back to Top Back to Wave Index
The region of a longitudinal wave in which the vibrating particles are farther apart than their equilibrium distance