Does Sound Travel Up or Down? Get the Facts (Today!)

I’ve been in the soundproofing business for more than eight years now, and this is one of the most common questions I get asked by my readers. Below, I’ve put together a short, informative guide addressing this exact question.

Does Sound Travel Up or Down?

Recently, I asked my wife this same question, and she didn’t know the answer, either. What I’ve realized is that many people think sound travels in one direction, but that’s actually a misapprehension.

Sounds travel in both directions (up and down); because they’re omnidirectional, every sound will travel in any way possible. However, there are a few factors that may impact the direction of sounds.

The best thing about sound is that you have the ability to direct it to a particular area or in a particular direction, but you should keep in mind that if any hard surface interrupts the path of the sound waves, some of the waves will pass through the object while others will eventually bounce back. How many waves pass through will depend on the thickness of the hard object.

If most of the sound waves bounce back from a thick surface, such as a ceiling or bedroom floor, then it will lead to other problems like an echo.

If you’re upstairs, you’ll most likely hear low-frequency sound waves coming from things such as a bass drum or thunder outdoors. If you’re downstairs, you’ll be more likely to hear high-frequency sounds, like the chirping of birds or the voices of children.

If you’re particularly interested in blocking sound within a vehicle, as opposed to just the home, you might want to check out this post on reducing vibration from the subwoofer in a car.

Which Sounds Travel Further Than Others?

Low-frequency sound waves tend to travel further distances than high-frequency sound waves do. The main reason is that high-frequency waves tend to be absorbed more, and I strongly believe that this is because they heat the air they travel through to a greater extent. Also, high-frequency sound waves have difficulty passing through walls, especially if a wall is particularly thick.

On the other hand, a low frequency means a long wavelength, and low-frequency sounds also require a substantial mass of air movement. This oscillating air pressure easily travels through things like walls, ceilings and floors, and soft objects don’t absorb the energy of the sound waves, either, because of the longer wavelengths.

How to Reduce the Impact of Sound

If you’re living in a shared apartment and your goal is to reduce as much sound coming from upstairs and downstairs neighbors as possible, there are few soundproofing tips you can follow to get the job done without breaking the bank.

You might also be interested in this article on how to prevent sound from leaving a room.

Which Sounds Travel Fastest?

The speed at which sound travels has a lot to do with what it’s traveling through. Of the three mediums (gas, liquid and solid), sound waves travel the slowest through gases, a little faster through liquids and the most rapidly through solids. Temperature also has a lot to do with the speed of sound.

Conclusion

The answer to this question is pretty complex, but as you can see, sound travels both up and down and in any direction as well. There are many different factors that influence sound waves, such as the environment, the type of sound frequency, the surface involved and the medium through which the sound is traveling.

image 1: Pixabay; image 2: Pixabay