Science Fair Project: Sound Barriers

[Eric W]

Hey, we're doing a science project about sound barriers. We want to know what would be the best way to test sound the sound effects of a highway on an ajacent town. Please help

[Dr. Bruce Weaver]

Hi,

First, I think you would want to decide what you mean by "effects".

Keeping people awake at night? Distracting them or tiring them in the daytime? Annoying gophers?

Probably what you would like to do is make some measurement of the loudness of the sound in different locations at a couple times of day (rush hour vs a week night). Best would be a meter for measuring the sound level but you could also use your own ears (e.g., how far away do I have to go to not hear the sound? or have a noise maker [ipod?] and see how loud you have to turn it up to not hear the road sounds).

You'll also have to compare to a similar area without a sound barrier as a control. It has been clained that some sound wall designs actually channel the sound in certain directions, making the noise louder in some areas than it would be without the sound barrier by reflection and such.

Sounds like an interesting project. I'm imagining the result to be a noise contour map of the areas of interest.

[jenicechummar2]

Hey, you should start by doing some research on the subject and gather background information on sound barriers. There is an idea to build a structure similar to barrier walls built along highways to reduce sound. I read that there is a Radio Shack sound pressure level meter is a device for measuring sound pressure levels in an acoustic environment. I don't know if that can help, but maybe you can look into it. I like your idea so far. Good luck.