understanding the science of acoustics
How often do you stop and think about the role that acoustics play in our daily lives? Acoustics impact the clarity of our conversations, our enjoyment of live performances, the quality of work we’re able to deliver, our health and wellbeing and, fundamentally, how well we’re able to interpret the world around us.
So, how can we utilise acoustics in the spaces around us to positively affect our work and enjoyment? Read on to learn all about the science of acoustics.
acoustic science: understanding sound
The first step to answering that question is understanding acoustic science. We can look at this by defining what sound, frequency and amplitude is.
what is sound?
Sound is created by vibrations in the air. When these sound waves reach our ears, the vibrations stimulate thousands of tiny hairs within the eardrum (more precisely, the inner tube known as the cochlea) to send electrical signals to our brains. It’s these signals which give us our perception of sound.
what is frequency?
The sounds we hear are predominantly determined by their frequency and amplitude. Frequency refers to a sound’s pitch and is measured in Hertz (Hz). Higher frequencies result in sounds with higher pitch, and vice versa for lower frequencies.
what is amplitude?
Amplitude, on the other hand, refers to how loud or intense a sound is. The higher the amplitude, the louder the noise. It’s measured using the decibel scale, an important tool for measuring how much discomfort could be caused by sound.
For example, a library would typically operate at a level of around 40 decibels (dB), whereas a jet taking off would be expected to have an eardrum-rupturing amplitude of 150dB.
what are acoustics?
Acoustics concern the qualities of a space that determine how sound is transmitted within it. It’s always been a key consideration in entertainment venues like concert halls, where sound quality will naturally impact the enjoyment of a performance, but acoustics are also a crucial factor in other buildings such as commercial and industrial spaces.
what impacts the quality of acoustics?
There are several factors that affect acoustics, chiefly where the initial vibration comes from, what the vibrating medium is made from and the surfaces the sound waves have to travel via before reaching our ears.
Sound waves come into contact with a variety of surfaces including walls, ceilings and furniture. Depending on the material of that surface, sound waves are either absorbed or reflected, influencing the way that the sound fills the space.
Rooms with lots of furnishings and soft materials like carpets and curtains will mean that sound waves are more likely to be absorbed and lose energy before reaching the ears, resulting in a ‘flat’ aural environment. Conversely, an open room with many hard reflective surfaces will likely give rise to echoes and reverberations.
When reverberations occur, sound waves bounce off multiple surfaces so that noise remains audible for longer, often resulting in muddled hearing.
For example, if someone said a word in a room with a reverberation time of three seconds, that word would bounce around that room for those three seconds until it had decayed by 60 decibels. If, within those three seconds, that person carried on talking, everything they said would bounce around the room and enter listeners’ ears at different angles, making it hard to make out what’s being said. This results in the speaker raising their voice to be heard, which only makes the problem worse.
controlling acoustics
The main approach to dealing with acoustics is sound absorption. Sound absorption, instead of completely obstructing sound, utilises soft, porous materials such as acoustic sprays to take the energy out of sound waves. By absorbing sound instead of reflecting it, sound absorption reduces the time sound waves reverberate around a space, resulting in dampened sound and clearer speech.
how we implement the science of acoustics
There’s lots to learn about how quality acoustic sciences can improve soundscapes.
As a company, we have acoustic science at the forefront of our thinking, offering the most efficient ways to acoustically treat your spaces. Whether it’s acoustic plaster, soundproofing, thermal insulation or acoustic blocks, we’ve got the solutions to your acoustic problems. Work with Oscar Acoustics today to find the right solution for you.
