We are constantly exposed to sounds, both outside and inside. Even the air makes noises as it moves. On some days, you might wish for a place where it is really quiet. There is one. However, most people don't last long there.
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The room of silence
Microsoft created this unique place of absolute silence in 2015, according to heute.at. It is a chamber in which there is absolutely no echo. This means that not even the air pressure affects the eardrums and there is total silence.
However, this has nothing in common with the pleasant silence we often wish for. Most people who have been in the chamber find it deafening, the main developer of the chamber, Hundraj Gopal, told CNN.
Almost maddening
There is a feeling of fullness or a soft ringing in the ears. Hundraj Gopal explains:
You can hear yourself breathing.
If you turn your head, you can hear the movement.
In fact, you can even hear your own heartbeat, reports Stern. In this total silence, you can hear your blood rushing and your bones cracking. And that is hard to bear.
A very special building
The chamber rests on a series of vibration-damping springs. It is surrounded by six layers of concrete and steel. Fiberglass wedges cover the floor as well as molded foam, which is also located on the walls and ceiling.
As there are no hard walls, no sound waves are reflected back. Inside the chamber of silence, the measured noise level is negative decibels, -20.3 dB to be precise. That is 20.3 decibels below what a human being can hear.
Microsoft uses this unique location to test humming and clicking noises from audio devices, computer fans, mice and keyboards. But software in which audio components dominate is also tested there.
Guinness World Record
Microsoft's bunker currently holds the world record as the quietest place in the world. The previously quietest chamber in Minneapolis at Orfield Laboratories had to surrender this record. Since then, it has been open to the public and has become a tourist magnet.
Incidentally, there is also a record for the time spent in the chamber. So far, only one person has lasted 55 minutes in silence. Many people want to get out again very quickly after just a few minutes.
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This article has been translated from Gentside DE.
Sources used:
Heute.at: Stillster Ort der Welt: Hier hörst du dein Blut fließen
Stern.de:Pure Stille "Es beunruhigt fast jeden": Microsoft baut leisesten Ort der Welt
