Acoustics


 * Speed: Distance travelled in unit time (m/s).
 * Frequency: Number of complete waves in one second. Number of waves that pass a point per second (Hz).
 * Wavelength: Distance between matching points on the wave (m).
 * Longitudinal: Vibration parallel to direction of travel.
 * Transverse: Vibration at right angle to direction of travel.

Notes

Acoustics: is the term for the study of sound and how sound is experienced. The field of acoustics is divided into several specialist areas. The word acoustics comes from the Greek akoustikos (“to do with hearing”) and akouo (“to hear”).

Reverberance time: It is the time it takes for the sound pressure level to fall by 60 dB after the sound has been turned off. Measuring the reverberation time allows us to calculate the total sound absorption. The reverberation time varies according to the frequency.Reverberance is linked to the speed at which sound energy disappears in a room. An unfurnished room with hard surfaces, such as a church, is perceived as being more reverberant than a well-furnished living room.

Rooms with absorbent ceilings are more common. In these rooms, the reverberation time does not only depend on absorption. The room’s sound-scattering furnishings, how the absorbers are placed and the shape of the room also play an important role. However, the sound level will mainly depend on the room’s total absorption. The more absorption the room is given, the lower the sound level will be. In rooms with absorbent ceilings, we distinguish between two situations that we call “steady-state” and “reverberation”. In the case of steady-state, a sound source emits sound continuously, with the room thus having a constant level of sound. Even in rooms with absorbent ceilings, the sound is more or less diffuse at steady state. Consequently, we can determine sound level reduction in the same way as for the hard room described above.

Room Acoustic Comfort: Room acoustic design can make people feel better, work better and heal better. Thats why it's important to consider Reverberance, speech clarity, auditory strength, and spatial decay when designing a room. Room Acoustic Comfort is a trademark by ECOPHON, and it is based on the design of acoustic friendly environments for the comfot of the people.