Theoretical Background

The mathematical theory of sound propagation began

with Isaac Newton in his PRINCIPIA he included a

mechanical interpretation of sound as being a pressure

pulses transmitted through particles around it and that

sound was traveling in a finite speed. Sound can be

affected by temperature because it travels by air

molecules. Air is very much needed to make sound

possible to transmit itself. The Huygens–Fresnel

principle is a method of analysis applied to problems of

wave propagation. It recognizes that each point of an

advancing wave front is in fact the center o a fresh

disturbance and the source of a new train of waves; and

that the advancing wave as a whole may be regarded as

the sum of all the secondary waves arising from points in

the medium already traversed. This view of wave

propagation helps better understand a variety of wave

phenomena, such as diffraction. Sound has a certain

wavelength that corresponds to how strong the sound is

or how weak. The longer the wavelength is the lesser the

possibility of sound to reach an ear while the shorter the

wavelength is the higher the possibility for sound to

reach a subject. In other words if the wavelength of

sound is long the sound produce is weak and if the

wavelength is short the sound produce is stronger. The

longer the wavelength is the harder it is to block sound

especially when the material that obstructs it is shorter

than the wavelength. Sound can be very hard to contain

like air and water. It has the ability to move like water.

Sound can also bend around corners like water that

suggests the theory of diffraction.

Diffraction was taken from the Latin word diffringere,

which means to break into pieces. Francesco Maria

Grimaldi coined the theory of diffraction, which is

described as the apparent bending of waves around small

obstacles and the spreading out of waves past small

openings. Materials like cloth, wood, glass, and others

may be penetrated by sound that means that sound may

still reach a subject even though these kinds of materials

are obstructing, due to diffraction. The lesser the holes of

an obstruction to sound have the greater the ability of the

material to diffract; However, diffraction does not apply

to all kinds of materials, especially to the materials

recently mentioned, because of the structure the object

have. Cloth has a greater possibility that sound could

penetrate because it has a little chance of diffracting

sound due to its material characteristics and structure.

The fact is, some materials have the ability to fully

reflect sound or block it or to absorb sound thus

preventing it to travel through it to reach a certain

medium.

Reducing sound, blocking, and absorbing it is simply

called to be soundproofing. Soundproofing is the

reduction of sound pressure from a specified sound

source and receptor. Sound pressure is the local deviation

from the average pressure caused by a sound wave.

Soundproofing can be achieved by the use of certain

things especially in walls, windows, doors, ceilings and

even floors. Soundproofing is mainly used in

construction to implement noise control or even to

enhance the sound in a specified location like a theater or

movie house. Mostly, soundproofing is produced due to

the characteristics of the materials as stated in the theory

of diffraction. The use of distance to dissipate sound is

simple. The energy density of sound waves decreases as

they spread out, so that increasing the distance between

the receiver and source results in a progressively lesser

intensity of sound at the receiver. Using mass to absorb

sound is also quite basic, with part of the sound energy

being used to vibrate the mass of the intervening object,

rather than being transmitted. When this mass consists of

air the extra dissipation on top of the distance effect is

only significant in specific distance about a thousand

meters, depending also on the weather and reflections

from the soil. Damping is the process by which

vibrations are converted into heat over time and distance.

Achieved in several ways, like adding a layer of a

material like lead and neoprene. Another material used is

the QuietRock. Acoustic foam can also be used to damp

the sound waves. Making a sound wave transfer through

different layers give a lot of help in dampening the sound

waves.

There are theories pertaining the ability of materials to

prevent sound from getting through it. One of which is

diffraction. Other theories are sound absorption and

sound reflection. There is a big difference between the

two theories but their main concept is to control sound.

Sound absorption does not mean to reflect a sound wave

like a mirror does to a light. It means to absorb sound

and depleting it while traveling through it. Either to

lessen the sound produced outside or inside so that when

it reaches the other side of the object the frequency is

high or to simply eliminate the whole sound while in the

process of reaching the other side. The theory of sound

absorption states that when a sound wave strikes an

acoustical material the sound wave causes the fibers or

particle makeup of the absorbing material to vibrate. This

vibration causes tiny amounts of heat due to the friction

and thus sound absorption is accomplished by way of

energy to heat conversion. The more fibrous a material is

the better the absorption while the denser the material is

the lesser it can absorb sound. The ability of sound

materials to absorb sound vary on the frequency of sound

because it is hard to absorb sound having low frequency

due to its long wavelength. However, sounds having a

greater frequency can be easily absorbed because having

a higher frequency means a lot of cycles in a second thus

making the particles in the absorbing material vibrates

rapidly. This then converts the energy of the sound

waves into heat is some of the resting molecules steal

most of the sound’s energy and will lose energy in

moments. The materials thickness has the greatest part of

its ability of absorbing sound. Yet, before all these

happen, the sound must be powerful enough to overcome

the viscosity of the medium, which the sound is

propagating. Therefore, the greater the ability of a

material to store molecules in an organized manner or

structure, the higher is its ability to absorb sound. Sound

absorption is commonly used in ordinary homes,

buildings, and restaurants. In homes, using carpets and

other materials involved in the creation of the floor uses

sound absorption to dampen the sound created by

footsteps on floors.
In another theory, a room echoes when it is empty

because the sound waves just reflect from the bare walls.

In this case, sound is prevented from coming out of a

certain room or getting in yet reflects it back to another

direction therefore, it enhances the sound quality of a

room or place. This theory is called sound reflection. The

theory states that when a longitudinal sound wave strikes

a flat surface, sound is reflected in an articulate manner

given that the dimension of the reflective surface is large

compared to the wavelength of the sound. The nature of

the reflection varies according to the texture and

structure of the surface. Spongy materials will tend to

absorb some energy, and rough materials tend to reflect

the sound waves in many directions, scattering the

energy. Sound reflection is a simple theory similar to that

of reflecting light to a mirror in which light reflects in an

organized manner or specified manner; however, if the

mirror is shattered into pieces and light is reflected upon

it, the manner or direction of light is uncertain and

disorganized similar to the case of a rough surface.

Sound reflection as used in theaters, give a better

outcome in terms of the sound quality with in the theater.

Acoustics scientist found out that a rectangular theater

gives off a poor sound quality because the sound volume

reaching the audience is lessen due to the fact that the

sound waves are reflected contradictory to the place

where the audience are seated. In other words, the sound

waves are reflected in an unrecognized manner because

of the theater’s structure, bouncing each and every sound

wave in many directions before reaching the audience. A

usual theater has a cone like shape making the stage as

the pick of the cone. This was made like this for the

reason of sound enhancement. When a cone shaped

structure is used, the sound waves move synchronized in

such a manner that the sound waves’ energy is still

strong when reaching the listeners. Sound reflection does

a lot to the music industry as well. Used in recording

studios, sound reflection enhances the sound quality of

the recording room as it reflects the sound waves around

the whole room preventing it from coming out and thus

maintaining its energy.

Sound has different ways in mitigating roadways,

railways, airports and industrial noise control. One of

which is the noise barrier. It is an exterior structure

designed to protect sensitive land uses like buildings,

private homes, schools, and other social receptors from

noise pollution. Walls, tunnels and other structures are

made to minimize noise pollution in the form of noise

barriers upon the community to be able to acquire peace

and harmony. Another way of mitigating sound is

reducing the noise intensity of a certain technological

advancement or even simple machines. The use of hybrid

and electrical vehicles, improving automobiles

aerodynamics and tire design, and choosing low-noise

paving materials are examples of reducing noise

intensity.

Noise health effects are the health consequences of

elevated sound levels. Noise from elevated sound levels

can cause very much damage to the environment

especially the human being due to its constant use of his

or her hearing ability. These levels can cause hearing

impairment, hypertension, and annoyance and even sleep

disturbance, which is the cause of stress due to the lack

of rest. What is more striking is that noise effects can

also cause cardiovascular diseases. It can also stimulate

aggression and other anti-social behaviors. Thus noise

must truly be obliterated or terminated to achieve a

healthy lifestyle.