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Quizzical Pursuit
—The Architecture Puzzler
Created by Dave Guadagni
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Solution to Last Week's Puzzler
Architecture Puzzler #470
Question
What is the "inverse square law" and to which of the following does it apply?
a. sound intensity
b. light intensity
c. both
Answer
The "inverse square law" applies to both sound and light intensity, each of which is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source and the receiver. Doubling the distance cuts the intensity of light and sound 25 percent. Note that in sound, this applies to the intensity of sound (I), measured in watts per square centimeter, and not to the sound intensity level (IL), which is measured in decibels. The IL is not proportional to the inverse square of distance.
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Dave Guadagni, AIA, is an architect with Robertson/Sherwood/Architects
Quizzical Pursuit is Copyright 2010, Dave Guadagni.
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Theater at Epidaurus by Polykleitos, at Epidaurus (Epidavros), Greece, dating to circa 300 BCE.
Photo by Howard Davis/ Artifice Images
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