How does acoustic foam work?

Acoustic foam, which you may be familiar with in the music studio, is used on walls, doors and other parts of a room to reduce or control noise.

It is generally made of polyurethane or melamine foam and is used to reduce vibration, noise and echo. If you go into the large auditorium, you will notice that the walls and ceiling are covered in some spongy material.

That material is acoustic foam. Because an auditorium, like a hall or arena, is often sound-fatigued at high volumes, it is prone to echo. Thanks to this foam, the room is anechoic and everyone can hear the sounds clearly and accurately.

Noise dampening foam does not exactly prevent sound from entering the space. Instead, it absorbs excess vibrations in the sound wave, paving the way for pure sound. This means that if a person is standing outside a room with acoustic foam inside, they will hear everything going on inside, but at a low volume.

You've surely seen egg crates covering particular walls of makeshift studios. These crates act as noise-dampening foam.

How does acoustic foam absorb noise?

When you scream in your room, the sound waves bounce off the wall. Walls layered with acoustic foam will not reflect sound waves. Instead, the waves will engulf you and the person in the next room will hear your scream muffled.

Sound is also energy. And the general principle of energy says that it can change forms, but it cannot disappear. So, when you scream at a wall and throw your sonic energy at it, that energy has to go somewhere, right? The sound energy from your scream is absorbed into the acoustic foam and converted into heat.

Strictly speaking in terms of experimental physics, if you scream loud enough in a room covered in noise-canceling foam, you can sweat.

Noise canceling foam is a product that absorbs echoes in a room. It is used to improve the sound quality in the room where it is installed. It can be used in all spaces that require clear and accurate sound. All auditoriums, studios, recording booths, etc. they will be equipped with noise canceling foams that cancel echoes, remove unnecessary reverberations and provide clear sound.