do noise waves pulse the air?

[HouseHendrix]

this may well be a silly question, but do noise waves actually pulse the air? I mean, is that how we hear them?

[CharlesColton]

Yes, that's correct! Noise travels through air (and more mediums) as waves. :d These waves cause particles in the air to pulse, producing sounds that we can hear.

[KieranTroy]

To elaborate on 's point, the sounds we hear are really vibrations of the air reaching our eardrums. /b: Absolutely. And note that the speed of noise is different in different materials. For instance, noise waves travel faster in water than in air, and faster in steel than in water.

[ByronBryant]

When a noise wave passes through air, it alternately compresses (increases pressure) and rarifies (decreases pressure) the air. Those variations in air pressure are perceived by our ear as noise. /blockquote