How-To's Workshops MDI Conference Dome News Lighter Side President's Sphere Editor's Circle Site Map Bouncing Off the Walls Controlling acoustics in a Monolithic Dome by David B. South, reprinted from the Roundup, Summer 2000 Click to Enlarge Sound reverberates in all spaces except outer space. Sound waves travel out from their source forever unless they impinge on to a surface where they are absorbed, or reflected, or both. Sound tends to travel in a straight line. It will bounce in much the same way as light reflects.
All rooms have their own acoustic behaviors.
The sounds will bounce from wall to wall and ceilings until they are absorbed. If a room is empty and the surfaces are hard, sound bounces many more times before it dies. If the room is padded, the sound quickly dies as it is absorbed by the padding. Monolithic Domes are shaped perfectly to reflect all sound through their focal point their centers. This means we can capture the sound and absorb it at its center without covering all the other surfaces.