APPROXIMATE SPEED OF SOUND IN COMMON MATERIALS

MEDIUM SOUND VELOCITY (ft/s) m/s

Air, dry (0C and 0.76mm Hg) 1,100 330
Wood (soft – along the fibre) 11,100 3400
Water (15C) 4,700 1400
Concrete 10,200 3100
Steel 16,000 5000
Lead 3,700 1200
Glass 18,500 5500
Hydrogen (0C and 0.76m) 4,100 1260

TYPICAL NOISE LEVELS

NOISE SOURCE dB(A)
Pneumatic chipper at 1 meter 115
Hand-held circular saw at 1 meter 115
Textile room 103
Newspaper press 95
Power lawn mower at 1 meter 92
Diesel truck 50km per hour at 20 meters 85
Passenger car 60km per hour at 20 meters 65
Conversation at 1 meter 55
Quiet room 40

SOUND TRANSMISSION CLASS

STC PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTION
50 – 60 Excellent Loud sounds heard faintly or not at all
40 – 50 Very Good Loud speech heard faintly
35 – 40 Good Loud speech heard but hardly intelligible
30 – 35 Fair Loud speech understood fairly well
25 – 30 Poor Normal speech understood easily and distinctly
20 – 25 Very Poor Low speech audible
 ACOUSTICS TERMINOLOGIES
TERM DESCRIPTION
Acoustics Is a branch of physics concerned with sound
Architectural
The effect of building design on the control of sound in buildings
Acoustics
Noise Any sound that is objectionable or not desired
Sound Produced by vibrating objects and reaches the ears as waves
Pitch How high or low the waves
Frequency Cycle rate of wave form
Decibel Intensity of sound
Intensity Rate of sound energy transmitted in a specific direction per unit area
Pressure Level is the local pressure deviation from the ambient (average or equilibrium)
Sound Power Sound energy transferred per second from the noise source to the air
Loudness Strength of the sound
Vibration When something oscillates about a static position
Reflection When sound strikes a surface before reaching the receiver
Reverberation Prolongation of sound caused by continued multiple reflections
Diffusion Scattering or random redistribution of a sound wave from a surface
Diffraction Bending or flowing of a soundwave around an object
Insulation Reduce unwanted external noise
Absorption Sound energy is converted into heat or passes through the absorber
Noise Reduction
Is a single-number index for rating how absorptive a particular material is
Coefficient (NRC)
Sound Transmission
Is a single-number rating of a material’s or assembly’s barrier effect
Class (STC)
Sound Transmission
Ability to reduce noise
Loss (TL)
Effectiveness of sound control doors varies with different combinations of
Acoustical Gasketing
materials
 LIGHTING TERMINOLOGIES
TERM DESCRIPTION
(Illumination) is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic
Lighting
effect
Candlepower (cp) Unit of luminous intensity
Candela (cd) Index of ability of a light source to produce illumination
Lumen (lm) Quantitative unit for measuring the flow of light energy
Footcandle (fc) 1 lumen that spread on 1ft2 area produces an illumination of 1 footcandle
Lights Rays that travel in a straight line
Absorptance The ratio of light absorbed by a material
Reflectance The ratio of light reflected by a surface
(Regular Reflection) Characterized by the angle of reflection being equal to
Specular Reflection
the angle of incident light
Transmittance The ratio of light transmitted
Direct Transmission When light passes through clear, transparent materials
Diffuse Transmission When light is scattered evenly in all directions
Refraction The bending of a ray of light
Footlambert (fL) Quantitative unit for measuring brightness
Glare The effect of excessive brightness
Work Station Contiguous area in which a worker performs visual task (50ft2 / 4.6m2)
Work Plane Surface on which the task is performed (30 inches / 0.76m above the floor)
Primary Source Transmitted directly to a task
Secondary Source Derive the brightness from reflected incident illumination
Reflector Device for redirecting energy by reflecting it in desired direction
Refractor Device for redirecting energy in the desired direction by refraction
Luminaire A complete lighting unit
Efficiency Ratio of light output
IES Illuminating Engineering Society of North America devoted to illumination
Coefficient of
The ratio of lumens from luminaire received on a work plane
Utilization (CU)
Coefficient of Beam The ratio of lumens reaching a specified area directly from a floodlight or
Utilization (CBU) spotlight