Sound is the movement of energy through a substance (eg air or water) in waves (waves of pressure) and is caused by vibrations. Sound energy is produced when a force causes an object or substance to vibrate (eg when a mallet strikes the gong). The pressure wave disturbs the particles in the surrounding medium, and those particles disturb others next to them and so on. The energy is then transferred through the object or substance in waves (sound waves). Sound cannot move through a vacuum as there are no atoms to transmit the vibration. Sound can be transmitted through solids, liquids and gases as these all have atoms to pass on the vibration. Vibrations are what cause sound energy. Sound energy is a form of kinetic mechanical energy (motion energy). It is noted that sound energy can be both kinetic energy and potential energy. Kinetic energy is generated when the instrument is played, yet when the instrument is at rest - only the potential for energy is there. When a person hits the drum with a stick for example, the kinetic energy of the stick is transferred to the drum and the drum produces a sound - there is a conversion of kinetic energy to sound energy.
Sound waves also move through plasma. Sound waves in a highly ionized plasma travel at supersonic or hypersonic speeds due to the coupling of extremely fast electrons and the much slower ions. It is noted that in a plasma sound wave the electrons and ions become slightly separated owing to their difference in mass, and an electric field builds up to bring them back together.
To create sound that is audible to human ears, sound energy moves the molecules of the substance through which it is travelling and creates sound waves that spread in a circular pattern like ripples in a pond. Sound waves travel through the air to the human eardrum which in turn also vibrates. As sound waves move further away from their source, their intensity becomes less intense.
Temperature can influence sound waves. Sound waves travel faster though the air on hotter days for example, as the atoms / molecules bump into each other more often than on cold days. Sound waves is a sequence of waves of pressure which propagates through a compressible medium (eg air or water). During their propagation, waves can be reflected, refracted or attenuated by the medium it is travelling through. Sound travels through air or other mediums as a longitudinal wave, in which the mechanical vibration constituting the wave occurs along the direction of propagation of the wave. A sound wave consists of alternating compressions and rarefactions, moving at a certain speed - ie periodic oscillating or vibrating variation of pressure. In some mediums, sound waves will spread out as they travel and bend round corners (diffraction) - eg sound waves moving down a corridor and then through a doorway into another room.
When you have a single sound frequency passing through a medium such as air, it propagates as a plane wave. That is, it propagates through space as a plane, rather than as a sphere of increasing radius. A wave of single frequency would be heard as a pure sound such as that generated by a tuning fork that has been lightly struck.
Each sound wave carries a specific frequency measured in hertz. Our bodies respond to the frequency of these waves. Our bodies, on its most molecular level also nothing more than vibrating energy, resonate with the frequencies that have been sent out. Two objects resonating at the same rate are ‘in resonance’. Illnesses and imbalances change the rate of vibration in our bodies into an unhealthy way. Beneficial sound frequencies can help remove energetic blockages and restore balance in our bodies, as they lift up the vibrational frequency. This is due to the effects of entrainment, an aspect of resonance. This is when you bring an object that vibrates at a particular frequency close to another object, eventually the object with the less powerful vibration will start to vibrate at the same rate as the more powerful one. This means that, if you bring an easing or healing sound close to another object or human that needs healing, eventually there will be a positive shift in vibration and the area will start to vibrate at a different frequency.
The vibration of the gong has the power to penetrate our nervous system and energetic field. The gongs help create shifts in consciousness, release stagnant energy, and can clear blockages on the physical, mental and emotional levels of the body. The key to the effectiveness of the big gongs, is the complete submersion and saturation of a person in layer upon layer of tone - cell multiplication. The universal gong sound is based upon the musical principle that all tones of equal amplitude keep resonating, adding to themselves. This phenomenon is unique to gongs.
Japanese researcher Dr Emoto is known for his research investigating the link between water and consciousness. In his study, he concluded that water is impacted by the vibrations of sound emitted to it. Dr Emoto found that sound vibrations, such as music or even the human voice can have immense healing powers (or destructive powers). Our bodies, made up of around 70% water, are not so different to water molecules. The vibrational sound waves travelling through air and water have the potential to change our very own vibrational frequencies. This is possible through the way we talk to ourselves as well as by using music and musical instruments such as the Tibetan singing bowl.
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