What Causes Reverberation?

Have you ever been to a place like the Grand Canyon or a big empty room and yelled at the top of your lungs? Do you wonder why it echoes, or how it happens? This is a form of reverberation. There are many causes of reverberation.

Considerations

• Vibration affects reverberation.

  In order for reverberation to occur, there has to be boundaries or an enclosed space. Reverberation time corresponds with the dimensions of the enclosed space, the type of material the enclosure was constructed with and the amount of sound absorbed. Anything tangible, including people inside the enclosed space, will affect the reverberation time.

Function

• Vibration will affect reverberation.

  Imagine you are at a football game in a dome or enclosed stadium. The crowd roars; sound is created. The roar of the crowd continues to reflect off the walls of the stadium after the crowd has stopped cheering. The extended sound after the crowd stops cheering is reverberation. If you yelled in the stadium by yourself, without the crowd, it would create a totally different reverberation of sound.

Prevention

• vibration

  The prevention of reverberation is not difficult. Simply open the enclosure or space. If you are in an enclosed room or stadium, and you opened a door or window, sound would not be reflected and absorbed consistently, because it would pass through the opened door or window.

The Facts

• Reverberation is measured and can be affected by different factors. The size and shape of the room or enclosure, and the material the walls of the room or enclosure, are made of effects reverberation. Some walls or materials have higher levels of absorption than others. Anything inside the room or space will also affect reverberation.