• Question: when you shut door, why does noise get quieter even though it is more atoms vibrating closer together ?

    Asked by hannahhhhh to Ben, Dave, Ed, Sam, Susana on 24 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Horrell

      Sam Horrell answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      Although wood is a solid so is a better conductor of sound than the air, a lot of doors are probably designed with soundproofing in mind. So they will intentionally be made with wood that absorbs sound instead of conducting it.

    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 26 Jun 2013:

      You are right, the solid door can indeed transfer the sound waves well. But when you close the door, not all of the sound waves are carried from the air in the other room, through the door, and back to the air in your room. Some get reflected back by the door on the other side, so the intensity that reaches you is lower and, like you said, “noise gets quieter” 😉

    • Photo: Benjamin Hall

      Benjamin Hall answered on 26 Jun 2013:

      I think it’s probably because most people have doors that are made of things like chip board nowadays. There’s a lot of air trapped in the door that absorbs the sound.

      You can see this when you knock on a chip board door as opposed to a hardwood (like Oak) door or even a solid door made of a softwood like Pine. The solid door will transfer the sound better than the chip board door.

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