Background noise

"Ambient noise" redirects here. Not to be confused withAmbient musicorNoise music.

For cinematic applications, seenoise criteria.

motor sounds wave

Background noiseorambient noiseis anysoundother than the sound being monitored (primary sound). Backgroundnoiseis a form ofnoise pollutionorinterference.Background noise is an important concept in setting noise levels.

Background noises includeenvironmental noisessuch aswater waves,traffic noise,alarms,extraneousspeech,bioacoustic noisefrom animals, and electrical noise from devices such asrefrigerators,air conditioning,power supplies,andmotors.

The prevention or reduction of background noise is important in the field ofactive noise control.It is an important consideration with the use ofultrasound(e.g. formedical diagnosisor imaging),sonar,andsound reproduction.

Other uses

Inastronomy,background noise orcosmic background radiationiselectromagnetic radiationfrom the sky with no discernible source.

Ininformation architecture,irrelevant, duplicate or incorrect information may be called background noise.

Inphysicsandtelecommunication,backgroundsignal noisecan be detrimental or in some cases beneficial. The study of avoiding, reducing or using signal noise isinformation theory.

Intelephony,artificialcomfort noiseis used as a substitute for natural background noise, to fill in artificial silence created bydiscontinuous transmissionsystems usingvoice activity detection. Background noise can also affect concentration.

See also

• 4'33 "
• Ambient noise level
• Electronic noise
• The Hum
• Colors of noise
• Sound masking

External links

• How low noise levels are achieved in concert halls
• Background noise in acoustics (demo)