reverberation

sound

Also known as: reverberant sound

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

Reverberation is the persistence of sound after the original sound source has stopped. This occurs because sound waves reflect off surfaces like walls, floors, and ceilings, creating echoes that can be heard for a period of time. The time it takes for the sound intensity to drop significantly is known as the reverberation time.1

This phenomenon is crucial in architectural acoustics. The reverberation time of a room depends on its volume and the sound-absorbing qualities of its surfaces. For speech clarity, a shorter reverberation time is desirable, while music, especially of certain eras, benefits from a longer reverberation time to achieve a fuller sound. The formula RT = 0.05V/A helps predict reverberation time, where V is the room's volume and A is its total sound absorption.1

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acoustics
Reverberation time
Although architectural acoustics has been an integral part of the design of structures for at least 2,000 years, the subject was only placed on a firm scientific basis at the beginning of the 20th century by Wallace Sabine. Sabine pointed out that the…
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Although architectural acoustics has been an integral part of the design of structures for at least 2,000 years, the subject was only placed on a firm scientific basis at the beginning of the 20th century by Wallace Sabine. Sabine pointed out that the…
Read More

musical sound
Movement
…resonance, any enclosure possesses a reverberation period, a unit of time measured from the instant a sound fills the enclosure (steady state) until that sound has decayed to one-millionth of its initial intensity. Anyone who has spoken or clapped his hands inside a large, empty room has experienced prolonged reverberation.…
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…resonance, any enclosure possesses a reverberation period, a unit of time measured from the instant a sound fills the enclosure (steady state) until that sound has decayed to one-millionth of its initial intensity. Anyone who has spoken or clapped his hands inside a large, empty room has experienced prolonged reverberation.…
Read More