A sabine (also known as the equivalent absorption area) is a measure of sound absorption afforded by a material which is defined as the product of its exposed surface area S (m2), multiplied by its random incident sound absorption coefficient alpha s. However the sabine is also specifically used to describe the total absorption provided by individual discrete objects, such as an acoustic canopy, where all of its surfaces may be influentially providing sound absorption and the use of as would not be sensible or realistic.
Once the total sound absorption present in a room (from both planar surfaces and objects) has been calculated, an estimate can be made of the room's probable reverberation time. The installation of canopies in a reverberant space can significantly reduce the reverberation time and contribute to the reduction in background noise.