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
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impossible. Many times, it is also used to explain something that is unknown. “How did the cookie get on the floor.” “I don’t know…magic?” The more and more things progress, however, the less and less “impossible” things are magic.
Looking past the disappointment that was the new Harry Potter movie, one could find “magical” things that actually do not seem too far off from reality. One particular event that I found could be a possibility in real life is the game of Quidditch. This game is basically soccer played with flying balls and broomsticks. In my opinion, flying is going to be the next big thing for humans. Other ways of transportation- cars, trains, and boats- are all very developed ways to get places, but nothing beats the speed of flying. I also do nothing think it would be overly difficult. A lot of work would have to be done with propellers and using a smaller vessel than a plane, but I do not think the concept of a broomstick has to be thought of as completely fiction.
was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Immediately upon walking into the room, I felt completely different. Sitting in complete silence (except for the motion in your ears) and in complete darkness was extremely therapeutic and it really relaxed me. Possibly the same technology that went into building that room could be used to create such a room in a house that can be used for meditation.
