It could silence planes, transform concert halls, and make your neighbors not hate you.
But there are other places where noise cancelation would be helpful.
But you won’t be seeing it in your AirPods any time soon.
Wearing noise canceling headphones.Chichi Onyekanne / Unsplash
Incredibly, that’s how noise-canceling headphones work.
The result isn’t as neat as it is in your theoretical science class.
To augment the electronic part, headphones also have physical sound barriers.
*Blocking out the noise.@chairulfajar_ / Unsplash*
Thick cushioning or silicone tips to seal the ear canals from the outside.
Together, the result can be very effective.
Thenew plasma-based method from the EPFLis way, way better than this.
It works on the same principle but uses a speaker made of thin air.
Plasma-Based Soundproofing
Take a recording studio, a movie theater, or a well-designed music venue.
In these cases, you either want to stop noise from coming in or from escaping.
20Hz is the kind of bass you feel instead of hearing.
To do the same with conventional noise isolation materials, you’d need layers 13 feet thick.
Chronic exposure to loud noise can cause hearing damage over time.
Noise can also cause stress, impair concentration, and reduce the quality of sleep…
Imagine being able to crank up your stereo and not have to worry about annoying the people next door.
Or even better, cutting out the sound of the wailing baby from the apartment upstairs?
“Chronic exposure to loud noise can cause hearing damage over time.
Reducing unwanted noise can improve well-being and productivity,” general practitionerDr.
Mo Jansontold Lifewire via email.
However, this won’t bereplacing your AirPods Proany time soon.
And perhaps this tech isn’t even practical for use in headphones.
However, it certainly appears convincing that power consumption would not be an issue," says Khanduri.
But quiet spaces sound like a dream, oases in the middle of the modern world.
And it’s coming.
Unlike some research, this tech has already been licensed to theSwiss audio tech company Sonexos.
My neighbors are going to be so happy.
