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Question about Sound in Genral

Nightcleaner

Nightcleaner

Super Member
Sorry If the answer obvious: But has not clicked with me yet

Old House built 1930's upstairs large two bedroom Flat Double Glazed. When in the Music Room. Quite no music on. Two Women talking across the street in normal voice. Small top
Window open.

I can hear every word sometimes not Clearly. But enough to distract me and get me out of my seat in my nosy nature. To see who it is.

Now if i put my music on at a volume of normal speech level or sometimes the high passage will get louder.
Go outside into the front Garden. I cant hear it playing.

So my question: Why is it I can hear them Talking from the inside enough to get me out my seat in curiosity . But I can not hear my music from outside?

Not that i want to
 
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A lot of things in play.
I'm guessing reflection is mostly coming into play.
Their voices reflecting off off something (amplifying to a degree. Then, your room acting as the body of a guitar , you being in the middle.
Outside, sound is loud in the room, small opening to escape outside.
Going from a big space through a small opening will attenuate for starters.
The world is a giant white noise generator obscuring what's making it out. Mix in a little wind and wala:rolleyes:.
Something to that effect but too many variables in play to give honest answer
 
When you are sitting inside, it is quiet and your ears acclimate to that and become sensitive, such as your eyes do when sitting in the dark. Outside it is much louder and your brain shuts your ears down a bit so as not to be overwhelmed, just as your eyes do.

Really late at night when it is quiet and I've acclimated, I can hear the doorbell transformer in the attic humming. No way could I hear that under normal conditions.
 
Nightcleaner said:
Sorry If the answer obvious: But has not clicked with me yet

Old House built 1930's upstairs large two bedroom Flat Double Glazed. When in the Music Room. Quite no music on. Two Women talking across the street in normal voice. Small top
Window open.

I can hear every word sometimes not Clearly. But enough to distract me and get me out of my seat in my nosy nature. To see who it is.

Now if i put my music on at a volume of normal speech level or sometimes the high passage will get louder.
Go outside into the front Garden. I cant hear it playing.

So my question: Why is it I can hear them Talking from the inside enough to get me out my seat in curiosity . But I can not hear my music from outside?

Not that i want to
Click to expand...
The Jodrell Bank radio telescope observatory near Manchester has some nice exhibits on site that illustrate how a radio telescope works. One of them uses acoustics to illustrate how waves -- in the case of a radio telescope, radio waves, but waves are waves -- can be focused. It consists of a dish about the size and shape of a large wok at one end of a roughly football-field length area, and a similar dish at the other end. There's a metal ring positioned in exactly the focal point of each dish. If you stand at one dish and a friend stands at the other, you can have a comfortable conversation with each other by whispering into -- and listening to -- the metal rings.

That's whispering to each other across the length of a football field.

If one of the dishes were removed, you could listen at the other dish and still hear your friend whispering to you from across the field. That's because a dish collects and focuses the sound, resulting in significant amplification of what would otherwise be an inaudible signal.

I bet something similar is happening with your house: the shape of the roof or window and/or other structural features is acting like a dish to capture and focus sound waves from the street below.
 
DaveVoorhis said:
The Jodrell Bank radio telescope observatory near Manchester has some nice exhibits on site that illustrate how a radio telescope works. One of them uses acoustics to illustrate how waves -- in the case of a radio telescope, radio waves, but waves are waves -- can be focused. It consists of a dish about the size and shape of a large wok at one end of a roughly football-field length area, and a similar dish at the other end. There's a metal ring positioned in exactly the focal point of each dish. If you stand at one dish and a friend stands at the other, you can have a comfortable conversation with each other by whispering into -- and listening to -- the metal rings.

That's whispering to each other across the length of a football field.

If one of the dishes were removed, you could listen at the other dish and still hear your friend whispering to you from across the field. That's because a dish collects and focuses the sound, resulting in significant amplification of what would otherwise be an inaudible signal.

I bet something similar is happening with your house: the shape of the roof or window and/or other structural features is acting like a dish to capture and focus sound waves from the street below.
Click to expand...
These phenomena were observed(though not understood) and utlised by some ancients who also made whispering galleries in some buildings. Other amphitheatres were made with a lecturn which was specifically placed to carry and reinforce a speakers voice so that the speaker could be clearly heard at every seat in the amphitheatre.
 
I live in a cul-de-sac, and I also notice some surprisingly "loud" reflections of sound, like people talking or 3 houses over garage door opening sounds just like mine. I think this occurs because several homes in my near vicinity are at odd angles to each other.
 
A canny ruler could have reception room where he could hold negotiations with foreign dignitaries. The room's architecture, furniture layout, dimensions and acoustic treatment meant that foreigners who thought that they could whisper together and discuss inside knowledge whilst seemingly seated at the far end of a very large room were actually clearly heard by the others who though being a reasonable distance away knew the properties of the room and exploited that advantage during the negotiations.
 
The head honcho at Jodrell Bank,Dr Tim O'Brian supports Manchester United,I know that because I used to go out with his sister,I still bump into her at the local Co-Op.
His father a retired Electrical Engineer hated me for two reasons,1,he supported Manchester United,2,his youngest daughter was sleeping with a Manchester City supporter.
Tims eldest brother Rick also supports Manchester United but he looked on me in a good light.
The youngest brother,Dave was a fellow Manchester City supporter,he wasn't his fathers favourite son,we used to go to matches together,though he moved to Norwich,hes back now and the circle is whole.
Dave makes theatre sets,UK based readers may remember The Krankies Christmas Pantomime in Glasgow some years back getting cancelled because part of the set fell off and landed on one of The Krankies head,Dave was involved in that.
This has got nothing to do with the question,I'll get my coat.
 
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