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Can we simulate sound? (lemmy.world)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I know that nowadays there are some physics engines pretty advanced, capable of very complex simulations.

Are we at a point in technology where if, for example, we were to simulate a rock being dropped on the floor from a certain distance, the simulation can calculate the shape and weight of the rock , the air resistance experienced during the fall, the density of the floor where the rock will fall onto, and all the other thousands of factors involved, and from those things "calculate" the sound that the rock will make when hitting the floor, and then reproduce it?

Is there such a thing? Are we there yet? If not, is it something feasible?

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago

Yes and no. As my physics professor used to say, all models are wrong, our goal is to make the least wrong model. It's literally impossible to simulate every event. For example, what if there was an anthill under the area where the rock is dropped? Maybe that will affect the resulting sound? Maybe, but it's not going to make a difference to the observer.

We know enough physics to simulate a huge number of simultaneous events, but at some point a model becomes far too complicated (e.g. taking a week to run on a powerful computer), when a more simplified model will do the trick just fine. I personally compare it to FLAC and MP3--FLAC is of course best quality, but will eat up a ton of storage space, and MP3 (with compression) is good enough