Measuring Sound
The rating that indicates the transmission of sound through construction materials.
What is STC (sound transmission class)?
When sound is reflected from a surface and scattered evenly back into the room.
What is diffusion?
The threshold of human hearing.
The measurement of sound level. A measurement of 0 is the threshold of human hearing.
What is a decibel?
The blocking of sound transmission through a space or between rooms.
What is attenuation?
A whisper is approximately this many decibels.
What is 20 decibels?
A measurement of the amount of sound energy absorbed upon striking a particular surface.
What is NRC (noise reduction coefficient)?
The process by which a material, or object takes in sound energy when sound waves are encountered (as opposed to reflecting the energy).
What is absorption?
A normal conversation is about this many decibels.
What is 40 decibels?
Ratio of sound intensity absorbed by the material to the total intensity reaching the material.
What is the coefficient of absorption?
The prolongation of sound as it repeatedly bounces off hard surfaces.
What is reverberation?
A noisy restaurant or a hairdryer is about this many decibels.
What is 70 decibels?
The amount of sound lost through a partition.
What is transmission loss?
The two important qualities of a partition to impact with transmission of sound.
A jet plane taking off is about this many decibels.
What is 120 decibels?