Why does noise travel further at night

As you can see for yourself, the distribution of rays in both cases is almost identical. Since in my model I exaggerated the effect of the gradient much more than would be realistically found in the atmosphere, I think it's safe to say that this effect isn't noticeable in everyday life. But maybe something else is going on Try to get a similar sized train going a similar speed, and minimize background noises. Then, compare the amplitude of the two recordings, and let us know what you find!

I suspect they won't be significantly different, but I'd love to see experimental data! The basic physics of sound propagation are correct in that link you sent. You're also correct that the colder night air is denser, but that's not what determines the direction in which the sound waves bend. As that site says, it's the difference in sound speed that determines the bending.

Of course you're also right that it's easier to notice sounds when the background is quiet and has been quiet for a while. Yes, light has some inertial mass. On a bright day, the inertial mass of light in the atmosphere is about 10 times smaller less than one biliionth of one billionth than the mass of the air. It makes no difference whatsoever. Follow-up on this answer. Does light affect sound? Learn more physics! Related Questions.

Still Curious? I've questioned this a lot lately. Reading different things online hasn't helped much either. Does light effect sound. I've noticed where I live a train sounds louder at night than during the day. The same applies to laying in a dark room and listening to music.

So, does light effect sound? Hi Courtney, Light does not really affect sound. Sound waves are longitudinal waves. The vibration of air particles transports energy through the medium. This energy is moving in a wave-like pattern known as sound waves. Sound waves belong to longitudinal waves as vibrating particles move in the same direction where the wave is moving. Therefore, a longitudinal wave can travel in solid, liquid, and gas. On the other hand, transverse waves have particles vibrate at right angles where the wave is moving.

They can only travel in solids and liquids, but no in gases. Sound waves create compressions and rarefactions of the surrounding air. Compression is the region in the sound waves where air particles are closest to each other, whereas rarefaction is the exact opposite. Wavelength — The distance in which its wavelength determines a sound wave repeat. One complete wave is made up of one compression and one rarefaction. A full sound wave is called a crest. Amplitude — When waves pass through a medium, the air particles inside are temporarily displaced.

The maximum displacement of particles is called amplitude. Amplitude describes how high or low the waves are. It is the basis of how loud or how soft sounds are. Frequency — Frequency is the number of completed waves produced in a second.

It is used to describe how fast waves are vibrating. When sound wave propagates in air whose temperature changes with altitude, refraction of air happens. Sound will move towards areas with lower temperatures. In the daytime, when the sun shines the earth, the air near the earth surface is hotter than the air above.

Sound waves will be refracted to the sky Fig. On the contrary, in the nighttime, the air near the surface is cooler and sound waves are refracted to the earth surface Fig.