Whispering galleries are specially designed buildings that are elliptical or have a circular shape. Such buildings make it possible for a whisper to be carried from one part of the room to another. This is possible because the building is normally elliptical, enclosed, or circular. Thus, if a person stands at a particular point in a room and whispers the sound is transmitted and can be heard clearly by another person standing close to the wall on the other side of the building. However, the sound cannot be heard by a person standing far from the wall.
In architecture, whispering galleries are explained as the spaces beneath an elliptical or circular area. Thus, standing on a focal point makes it possible for a person at the opposite end of the building to hear the whisper. This means that only a person standing near a wall can hear the sound as “only a part of the reflected sound will reach the ear at a time” (Silliman 275). The whispering gallery phenomenon is possible because just like light waves sound waves can be refracted and be focused. In whispering galleries, even the tiniest sounds can be heard in the opposite direction. The circular shape of a building helps to transmit the sound from one point to another because sound normally clings to a concave wall thus the whispering gallery phenomenon. The sound of a whisper hits the curved ceiling and it is reflected on the floor thus making it possible to hear even faint sounds, as they will cling to the walls.
There are many whispering galleries across the globe. For example, Capitol Statutory Hall in the United States, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Cincinnati Museum Center, ear of Dionysius, Sicily.
The whispering galleries phenomenon is interesting and I think it can be used to improve communication especially in large buildings. The curved walls make it possible for people in the opposite direction to hear each other thus suitable for churches, theaters, conferences, and so on. I think the whispering gallery can be used in offices and this would reduce the usage on phones thus saving energy. This can be done if the story about a presiding officer at the Statuary Hall is anything to go by, as he would communicate with members seating about forty feet away privately using the whispering gallery. I also think the whispering gallery can be used to gather information from people’s private conversations if more buildings were constructed in the elliptical shape. The information collected may be important especially if criminals could be overheard discussing their evil plans and thus their missions thwarted. On the contrary, I think the whispering galleries can lead to the intrusion of personal privacy. For example, in St Paul’s Cathedral, there is a story of some parishioners listening in on conversations between other parishioners and the priests. A malicious parishioner may use such information to slander a certain person and this may injure that person’s career or reputation. Nonetheless, I think the whispering gallery is interesting and it can be used to man’s advantage in various fields such as the medical and science field.
The whispering galleries concept is interesting and buildings with the phenomena, I think are symbols of how great architecture is. More, importantly a person should be careful not to hold a private conversation in a whispering gallery as he or she might as well be telling the whole building the secret. However, how many people even know or think about the phenomenon?
Work Cited
Silliman, Benjamin. First-principles of physics: or natural philosophy, designed for the use of schools and colleges. Philadelphia: H.C. Peck & T. Bliss, 1859.