Sound waves

[Ron Nossaman]

>There is also often an attempt to distinguish the vibrations of an elastic
>medium which is exposed to air, from the vibrations induced in the air by
>the interaction. Both of these are technically sound waves, since both are
>vibrations in an elastic medium. The fact that the air can interact
>directly with our ear, while the soundboard cannot do so makes absolutely
>no difference. They are both sound. One might say that the interface
>between the soundboard and the air is a transducer (ha ha), converting the
>power input from the sounboard to power output in the air...but that may
>be treading on thin ice after tha past few days here. 
>
>Stephen

My problem with the use of the word "sound" here was the impression that
the soundboard works with internal compression waves. While sound that we
hear by atmospheric transmission is a pressure wave propagation, the
pressure wave propagation isn't the primary driver of soundboards. It's the
ripples on the surface of the "pond" that produces the bulk of the pressure
wave in the air that we hear. 
It's not the word that is the issue, it's the wave form.

Ron N