M : Sound and Vibration Terms, Definitions, Units, Measurements ...
m (metre) • length.
m2 (metre-squared) • area.
m3 (metre-cubed) • volume.
m3/kg (metre-cubed per kilogram) • specific volume.
m3/s (metre-cubed per second) • volumetric flow.
m/s (metre per second) •
speed •
velocity
m/s2 (metre per second-squared) •
acceleration.
m/s3 (metre per second-cubed) •
jerk.
MAF • minimum audible field
Magnetic Field, a region around a magnetic material or a moving electric charge within which the force of magnetism acts.
Magnetic Flux a measure of the strength of a magnetic field over a given area perpendicular to it, equal to the product of the area and the
magnetic flux density through it
Magnetic Flux Density measure of the strength of a magnetic field at a given point, expressed by the force per unit length on a conductor carrying unit current at that point B Also called: magnetic induction. The SI unit of magnetic flux density is the tesla.
Magnetic Induction
1 : magnetic flux or
flux density
2 : the process by which an object or material is magnetised by an external magnetic field.
Masking Noise, a noise that is intense enough to render inaudible or unintelligible another sound that is also present, also known as
auditory masking
See also • critical bands.
Mass (m), the
scalar quantity of matter which a body contains, a fundamental property of an object. One of the seven SI base units, mass is measured in
kilograms and the symbol is kg :
1 kg = 1000 g = 10
-3 tonne
Mass and weight are related, but not the same thing. An object with a mass of 1 kg would weigh 6 times more on Earth than on the moon, due to gravity.
See also •
gravitational force.
Mass Density, kilogram per metre-cubed - kg/m
3, see also the
density of air.
Mass Flow Rate is the mass of a substance which passes through a given surface per unit of time.
SI units • kilogram per second - kg/s
Matter in the 'material' sense, is that which occupies space and possesses
mass.
Maximum Peak,
treat with caution, by definition there can only be one peak value and this requires a special detector circuit that many meters do not have - see
peak.
Maximum Perceived Noise Level (PNLmax) the maximum sound pressure level during aircraft flyover.
See also • perceived noise level.
mb (millibar) a common metric unit of
atmospheric pressure 1 mb = 0.001
Bar, 100
Pascals.
Mean Free Path Definition IEC 801-31-15, in an enclosure, distance travelled by
sound waves between two successive reflections, on the average of a large number of reflections and for all initial directions of propagation.
Mean Square is the mean or average of the squared values of a time-varying quantity.
See also • RMS (root mean square) - widely used in acoustics
Measurement Time Interval (Tm) is the total time over which measurements are taken, ideally the duration of a measurement should always be stated.
Mechanical Coupler Definition IEC 801-28-04, device for calibrating bone-conduction vibrators, designed to present a specified mechanical impedance to a vibrator applied with a specified static force, and equipped with an electromechanical transducer to enable the vibratory force level at the surface of contact between vibrator and mechanical coupler to be determined
Mechanical Impedance Definition IEC 801-25-26, at a point in a linear mechanical system, quotient of a force applied at a point, by the resulting component of velocity in the direction of the force.
● Note : in the case of torsional mechanical impedance, the words
force and
velocity are replaced by
torque and
angular velocity.
Medium (plural media) the intervening material, structure or object through which sound and vibration waves are transmitted.
See also • elastic medium
mega (M), SI prefix = 10
6, see other
SI Units
Mel Definition IEC 801-29-02, unit of
pitch. A
pure tone frontally presented, having a frequency of 1 000 Hz and a
sound pressure level of 40 dB, causes a pitch of 1 000 mels
● Note : the pitch of a sound that is judged by the listener to be n times that of a 1 000 mels tone is n thousand mels.
micro (μ) • the SI prefix = 10
-6, see other
SI prefixes
microbar (μbar) • 0.000.001 bar = 0.001 millibar = 0.1 pascal = 1 dyne per square centimetre : a CGS unit of pressure.
micrometre (μm) • 0.000.001 metre
micron (μ) • alternative name for the micrometre = 0.000.001 metre
Microphones
microsecond (μs) • 0.000.001 second
Mid-band Frequency the centre frequency of a
band pass filter, defined as the
geometric mean of the upper and lower frequencies.
mil • a unit of distance = 0.001 inch = thousandths of an inch. 1 mil = 25.4 microns.
milli (m) • SI prefix = 10
-3 see other
SI units
millibar (mb), a common metric unit of atmospheric pressure, one hundredth of a
Bar.
1 mb = 0.001 bar = 100 Pa, pascals. A pascal is one newton per square metre.
millimetre (mm) • 0.001
metre
milliwatt (mW) • 0.001
watt
millisecond (ms) • 0.001
second
Minimum Level (Lmin), the minimum noise or vibration level during a measurement period or a noise event.
Sound levels should also include other descriptors i.e.
A, C, L or Z weightings and F, S or I time constants.
Sometimes written as Min dB(A).
MKS (metre-kilogram-second), system of measurement using the metre, the kilogram and the second as basic units of length, mass and time.
See also • SI units.
MLS (maximum length sequence), electronically generated test signal that has a flat energy vs frequency curve over a wide frequency range, similar to
white noise but is actually periodic, with a relatively long period, or slow repetition rate. The signal looks and sounds like
random noise and is often referred to a
pseudo-random noise. MLS measurements are widely used in acoustics for example measuring the frequency response of loudspeakers. Measurements are also possible in noisy environments as the
correlation technique used reduces all the
background noise uncorrelated with the MLS and the use of
averaging can further increase the S/N ratio.
mm (millimetre) • 0.001
metre
Modal Analysis, a process of determining the
natural frequencies,
damping factors, and mode shapes for a structure. This is usually done either experimentally through
frequency response testing or mathematically using finite element analysis.
Modal Numbers Definition IEC 801-24-15, set of integers by which the normal modes of
oscillation of a system are ordered as to frequency
Mode see
room modes.
Mode of Oscillation Definition IEC 801-24-13, characteristic pattern assumed by a vibrating system, in which the motion of every particle is simple harmonic with the same frequency
● Note : two or more modes may exist concurrently in a multiple-degree-of-freedom system.
See also other oscillation terms
Modulation, a process by which a spectral component is modified by another component and
sidebands result.
Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), the extent to which the fluctuations in the original signal are preserved in the signal reaching the listener. In the field of
speech intelligibility, the difference between the original spectrum and the
reverberant spectrum.
Modulus of Elasticity, the ratio of the stress applied to a body to the strain that results in the body in response to it. The modulus of elasticity of a material is a measure of its stiffness and for most materials remains constant over a range of stress.
Moment, a turning effect produced by a force acting at a distance on an object.
Moment of Force see
torque
Moment of Inertia, a quantity expressing a body's tendency to resist
angular acceleration.
Moment of Momentum measures and objects tendency to spin, units - kilogram metre squared per second - kg·m2/s
Monaural Sound Recording, a sound recording in which only one channel is used. If two channels (stereo or binaural sound) are available but only one channel is chosen, then the left channel is usually chosen by default.
Mouth Simulator Definition IEC 801-28-06, device consisting of a loudspeaker unit mounted in a baffle or an enclosure so shaped as to have a radiation pattern similar to that of the average human mouth. Also known as an
artificial mouth.
ms (millisecond), 1 ms = 0.001
second
MSHA : Mine Safety and Health Administration : USA.
MTF • modulation transfer function
MTVV • maximum transient vibration value
Multi-spectrum, a one or two dimensional array of spectra, consisting of two or more spectra that were recorded during the same measurement -
more information
Music Clarity
Home •
Glossary Search •
Certified Instrumentation for Hire
