Question

Why do good conference halls and music halls have curving ceilings and walls behind the stage?

Answer 1

The curved ceiling of conference halls:

1. Music or other sounds produced on stage in concert or conference rooms must be transmitted through the air to attendees.
2. Some of these sound waves go directly to the people in the crowd, without bouncing off on anything first. Other sound waves from the stage, however, first travel to surfaces like walls and ceilings, where they are either absorbed or bounced back.
3. The new path that sound waves take after reflecting off a surface depends on the angle at which they hit it.
4. Thus, to reflect sound in a certain direction, the concert halls, conference rooms, and movie theatres have curved ceilings so that sound reflects evenly and reaches the audience.