No, sound waves are not limited to air vibrations alone. While sound waves are commonly associated with the transmission of vibrations through the air, they can also propagate through other media such as water, solids, and even gases other than air.
Sound waves are essentially the result of mechanical vibrations that propagate as waves of pressure variations through a medium. When an object vibrates, it causes adjacent particles in the medium to oscillate, transferring energy and creating a pattern of compressions and rarefactions. These compressions and rarefactions form sound waves that travel through the medium.
In the case of air, sound waves occur as variations in air pressure. When an object, such as a loudspeaker or a musical instrument, vibrates, it disturbs the surrounding air particles, causing them to compress and rarefy. These pressure variations then propagate as sound waves through the air, eventually reaching our ears and allowing us to perceive sound.
However, it's important to note that sound can travel through other materials as well. For example, in water, sound waves propagate as variations in water pressure, and in solids like metals, sound waves can travel as vibrations through the material's molecular structure.
So, while sound waves commonly involve air vibrations, they are not limited to air and can occur in different media depending on the propagation medium.