The loudness and threshold of an interrupted white noise (of constant sound‐time fraction) was studied over a wide range of interruption frequencies. White noise has the useful property that, when interrupted, no spectral changes result in the white noise spectrum (in the frequency range passed by a dynamic earphone). Both at the threshold and at equal‐loudness, less energy is needed for an interrupted noise than for a continuous noise. In many cases, an interrupted noise (sound‐time fraction of 0.45) sounds louder than a continuous noise of the same burst amplitude (but of greater energy). There is a broad minimum, in the intensity required at equal loudness, for interruption rates between 2–10 per second. A conceptual formulation to encompass the results is presented.