July 15, 2009
When I walked inside, I found myself in a pitch black room. The walls were not normal but covered with thin, rectangular plates. There was even no floor available; it was basically a huge fence put on flat on the ground. But the weirdest part was the fact that it was soundproof.
This place is called an anechoic chamber which generally is conducted in studies in free-field conditions; meaning all sound energy will be traveling away from the source with almost none reflected back. These rooms are built with unique walls and ceilings that basically absorb sound. The material covering the walls of the chamber uses wedge-shaped panels to dissipate as much audio energy as possible before reflecting it away. Sometimes, the entire floor will actually be a shock absorber, just like the one I experienced, negating any vibrations from the rest of the building or outside. This phenomenon works by the fact that the wedge shape reflects energy into the apex of the wedge’s material rather than the air.
The staff gave me and my group tapes. After our eyes finally adjusted to the light, people slowly pulled tape. Consequently, a faint luminescent light appeared. As the tape was pulled faster and longer, the glow became larger and thicker. In this kind of space, no human can hear anybody scream. In this kind of space, nothing but silence can truly allow audiences to realize that in reality, no person can escape noise entirely. Everybody would perceive the surroundings as void of sound.
http://www.oobject.com/category/anechoic-chamber-architecture/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/24247/anechoic-chamber
http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/503/the-worlds-largest-anechoic-chamber
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anechoic_chamber
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-anechoic-chamber.htm