How do speakers produce sound from electrical signals?

Sound from electrical signals is produced through the process of vibrating a diaphragm in a speaker. When an electrical signal is sent to the speaker, it passes through a voice coil located near a magnet. This electrical current flowing through the coil creates a magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet. This interaction causes the coil—and thus the attached diaphragm—to move back and forth.

As the diaphragm vibrates, it pushes and pulls against the air around it, creating longitudinal sound waves that travel through the air. These sound waves are what we perceive as sound. This mechanism is crucial for converting the electrical energy of the signal into mechanical energy, which ultimately generates audible sound waves.

Understanding this process highlights the direct relationship between electrical signals and sound production, which is fundamental in fields such as acoustics and audio engineering. Other options such as generating light waves, converting sound waves into electrical signals, or using a transformer to amplify sound are not relevant in this context, as they do not directly describe the operation of a typical speaker in transforming electrical signals into sound.