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What is an echo? |
Everyday Marvels
Have you ever called out “Hello” only to have your own voice answer you back a moment later with your very same “Hello”?? An echo can seem very mysterious and strange – what causes it to happen?
If you've ever touched the top of a stereo speaker and felt it vibrating, then you've already felt the way sound moves and travels. Sound is actually little moving vibrations sent through the air that translate into noises when our ears pick them up. An echo is what happens when these little moving vibrations bounce off a surface as they travel and play back again a second time. (Or even a third, fourth, and more!) That’s why an echo is more likely to happen when the sound has a lot of surfaces to bounce off of. – Now you know why caves and alleyways are usually so full of echoes! (…full of echoes…full of echoes…full of echoes!)
Make your own echo!
You can try to create your own Echo Chamber using your knowledge of how they work!
Think about some walls or surfaces you can put together to create a cave-like space. Remember that materials like cardboard are more likely to absorb sound, while materials like metal or plastic are more likely to bounce sound back at you.
Try getting a good echo out of your project! Remember that the further your sound travels before it bounces, the better your echo will be! Also, think about how you can direct your voice or other sounds at the surfaces of your chamber so that they can be more likely to bounce back!
