The Science of Shh!
Imagine you’re living in the heart of a major city, surrounded 24/7 by the roar of traffic, yet when you step into your home, the noise dies away as if someone just turned the volume of the world down.
As Sara reported recently, the world – ourselves included – needs some peace and quiet to get on with the important business of living well. Obviously, stopping noise in the first place is wisest, since noise is wasted energy. But what about the clamorous world we live in today? Earplugs don’t seem to be much of an answer.
Science has a better idea. The picture below: that’s your imaginary house in the city. The lines are sound waves. In fact, it’s a computer model of a sonic cloak of the type currently in development by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. The theory: thanks to the sound-bending properties of advanced walling material, outside noise is diverted around your house and doesn’t have the chance to transmit through your walls – resulting in near-silence inside. (I have to wonder: so is it twice as noisy behind your house?)
And filling the gap while this material filters through into the mainstream, we have Green Glue, a new soundproofing material for wall cavities with a previously unheard-of capacity for mopping up sound and vibrations. And how green is Green Glue? “No volatile organic compounds” is music to our ears. So maybe the human race can learn to stop being such noisy neighbours after all.
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Images: moriza, sonic waves by Duke University, via Physicsworld
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4 Comments
June 24th, 2008 at 9:37 am
This sounds so cool but also somewhat strange if it were put into practice. I feel like we should be somewhat responsible/aware of what is going on around us…what if someone outside needs help and we can’t hear them? It seems like the iPod on a whole new level! But as a Brooklynite I can relate to needing some peace and quiet. Great article, Mike.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Mitigating not just the noise from outside, but between floors and walls, is one way to get people to choose higher density housing. These solutions sound great.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Good point, Ana Louisa, raising all sorts of questions – for example, I’m wondering if there’s a way for emergency services sirens to be designed so they aren’t blocked by these materials? Thanks!
June 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Yes, for the urban building industry it’s good news indeed. I’m not sure how it’ll work within buildings (in an extremely complex way, is probably the answer). Presumably one technique would be using these materials to divert the flow of noise to unused corners of buildings where it won’t be a nuisance….? (I’m just speculating, I’ve no idea). Thanks for dropping by, Claire!
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