Topics to Discuss:
1. What is a Speaker?
2. How does a speaker work?
3. Different Types of Speakers
1. What is a speaker?
A speaker is a device that turns electrical pulses into sound.
2. How does a speaker work?
The way a speaker works is based off the basic principles of an electro magnet. You have to start with some form of a coil that will create an electromagnetic field to push or pull a speaker cone back and forth. All the cone does is push air and create vibrations by pushing and pulling at a certain frequency determined by the pulses generated by the music payer.
So in a nutshell, here is how something like a set of headphones works: The music player sends out pulses that flow into the electromagnetic coil, and the electrical pulses are turned into an electromagnetic field that pushes or pulls on either a big magnet or just something metal that is magnetic. The object pushed or pulled is connected to something big and flat but also lightweight that will push lost of air. The more air that can accurately be pushed at one time, the lower the frequency of bass can be produced.
3. Different Types of Speakers
A. The Piezoelectric speaker
Piezoelectric speakers are also known as “beepers”. They are usually used in electronic devices to provide user feedback or reminders, or even simple noises. They are typically used to make high frequency sounds such as in watches or for a response to a user operating a touch pad. Piezoelectric speakers are sometimes used as tweeters in less-expensive speaker systems, such as computer speakers and portable radios. Piezoelectric speakers have several advantages over conventional loudspeakers: they are resistant to overloads which would normally destroy most high frequency drivers, and they often can be used without a crossover due to their electrical properties. There are also disadvantages: some amplifiers can oscillate when driving capacitive loads like most piezoelectrics, which results in distortion or damage to the amplifier. Additionally, their frequency response, in most cases, is inferior to that of other technologies. This is why they are generally used in single frequency (beeper) or non-critical applications.