Room acoustics is a subfield of acoustics dealing with the behaviour of sound in enclosed or partially-enclosed spaces. The architectural details of a room influences the behaviour of sound waves within it, with the effects varying by frequency. Acoustic reflection, diffraction, and diffusion can combine to create audible phenomena such as room modes and standing waves at specific frequencies and locations, echos, and unique reverberation patterns.
The pressure of axial modes (top row) and tangential modes (bottom row) plotted for modal numbers (m = 0, 1) and (n = 1, 2, 3)
Scratch Messiah 2015 at Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Interior view of Mabel Tainter Theater
Interior view of the choir at Worcester Cathedral, Worcestershire, UK
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves. The law of reflection says that for specular reflection the angle at which the wave is incident on the surface equals the angle at which it is reflected.
The reflection of Mount Hood in Mirror Lake
An example of the law of reflection
Sound diffusion panel for high frequencies