Sound and noise
Sound
Sound is generally defined as a vibration that propagates as a sound wave within an elastic medium. In air, sound causes pressure and density fluctuations. These fluctuations move in waves and spread spherically around the sound source. Narrow, fast sound waves have a high frequency (e.g. beeping sounds), while wide, slow waves have a low frequency (e.g. humming sounds). The shorter the wavelength λ, the higher the tone (frequency). The higher the amplitude A, the louder the tone (sound pressure level).
Noise
Noise is the biggest source of stress in modern office environments. However, since the perception of noise is highly subjective, it is not possible to measure noise as a stress factor. This makes it all the more important to consider both the volume and also the quality of the noise when designing ideal room acoustics at the workplace. For example, conversations are perceived as significantly more irritating than monotonous traffic noise at the same volume. The irrelevant sound effect describes the negative influence of speech interference on our performance – regardless of whether we understand the language. If the brain isolates individual voices from a babble of voices to follow a conversation, a so-called cocktail party effect occurs. Due to these two phenomena, conversations in office situations are the greatest source of distraction and are a central challenge in acoustic planning.
