M : Sound and Vibration Definitions, Terms, Units, Measurements ..
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 a 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.
Masked ThresholdThreshold of Audibility for a specified sound in the presence of another (masking) sound.
Masking Noise a noise that is intense enough to render inaudible or unintelligible another sound that is also present - also known as Auditory Masking
Mass : m the 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.
Mass Density kilogram per cubic metre - kg/m3 - 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
Mass Law a doubling in
Mass or
Frequency results in a 6 dB increase in the
Sound Insulation of a single leaf partition over a defined frequency range.
Mass Law provides a good working rule to predict the airborne sound insulation of a partition up to the region of the Critical Frequency and the Coincidence Effect
Maximum Length Sequence MLS - is basically a pseudo-random sequence of pulses. MLS measurements are quite standard in many different application fields, one of them acoustics. For more details click here.
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.
Sometimes written as Max dB(A). Do not confuse with
Peak
Maximum Transient Vibration Value : MTVV the highest maximum vibration level during a measurement period recorded in 1 second intervals to account for transient motion and short acceleration peaks, according to BS ISO 2631-1 Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body vibration. The SI units are m/s2
Measurement Microphones are widely used in noise measurements because they offer the best linearity, frequency range and high stability. Microphones are critical in acoustics so we have a full page on Measurement Microphones
Measurement Time ideally the duration of a measurement should always be stated.
For example : LAeq(60min) =
A-weighted,
Leq, measured for 1 hour.
MKS : metre-kilogram-second : a system of measurement using the metre, the kilogram and the second as basic units of length, mass and time
MLS : Maximum Length Sequence - an 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.
Modal Analysis is 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.
Mode a room
Resonance. Axial modes in rectangular rooms are associated with pairs of parallel walls. Tangential modes involve four room surfaces and oblique modes all six surfaces. Their effect is greatest at low frequencies and for small rooms.
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 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
Momentum : p = m·v = the motion of a moving body, measured as a product of it's
Mass and
Velocity - units: N·s = kg·m/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.
MSHA : Mine Safety and Health Administration : USA.
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
