Question:
Why is an echo weaker than the original sound?
Replies:
An echo is a signal that has been propagated through the air from
some object whose surface created a reflection of the signal. Whenever a
signal propagates in space, it spreads out with some of the signal going off
in different directions away from the original direction. The signal left on
the original beam is less than the whole beam that started so the energy in
the received beam is always less. For a point source the energy per unit area
drops off as the inverse square of the distance.
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.