Feb 11
The home studio of Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad is the audio equivalent of a sketchbook, and it’s full of wonderful toys.
     |
Feb 01
I was blown away when I first heard about a project that tried to tap into the electromagnetic communication potential of mushrooms. Using wires, radio waves, and circuits—not psychedelics—the project’s off-kilter quest to find (and listen to) "electromagnetic fungi" was nonetheless more art than science. But who says mushrooms have the right to remain silent?
| |
Jan 31
You know how some big rooms have special spots where you can stand and hear someone whisper from a hundred feet away. What if speakers could do that, selectively slinging sounds to specific listeners for specific purposes? You’d never have to wear headphones again!
| |
Jan 29
Being shot into space puts spacecraft under extreme stress—but did you know that the sound of the rocket launch can damage a craft? Inside the Large European Acoustic Facility, engineers recreate the incredible noise of a launch to make sure satellites can survive it. According to the ESA, "no human could survive" the sound.
| |
Jan 23
What if we could identify plants not by sight but by sound? It’s not entirely fanciful: every plant makes a unique set of sounds—an auditory signature, if you will—influenced by its physiology. But these sounds, usually in the ultrasonic range, are not for our ears.
| |
Jan 18
If you’ve ever found yourself in a room where you discover that the acoustic properties create a great echo, you’ve probably tried to see how long you can make the echo last. I’ve certainly found myself clapping my hands or yelling “Helooooooo” when I find a space like that. But I’ve never heard an echo that lasted more than a couple of seconds. Recently, a scientist managed to capture an echo which was an astounding 112 seconds long.
After finding out about a maze of abandoned WWII oil tanks under Scotland, Professor Trevor Cox decided to see just how long an echo could last in one of these massive 25.5 million liter tanks. Incredibly, after firing a gun in the chamber, he realized just how much reverberation was in the space, and captured this astounding sound clip. Keep in mind you’ll need to wear headphones and crank up the volume to hear much beyond about the 40 second mark.
The sound was captured by firing a pistol inside the solid rock chamber, and it seems to go on forever. The broadband spectrum sound lasts for 75 seconds, while the lowest frequencies lasted all the way out to 112 seconds.
But it wasn’t exactly easy for Professor Cox to make it happen. He first had to squeeze through a narrow 18-inch diameter oil pipe to get inside of the tank – not something that I’d be likely to try.
Guinness World Records has certified the 75 second record, which blew away the prior one – which stood at just 15 seconds.
[via The Independent]
Jan 17
Hardscrabble Pictures added sound to this old black and white silent film of San Francisco’s Market Street in April 14, 1906, just four days before the big earthquake that destroyed 80 percent of the city. It’s really wonderful—put on your headphones and listen to the calm before the storm.
| |
Jan 10
We know it’s tasty and delicious but who knew flavor could be so beautiful? This audio visual installation by Schwartz Flavour Shots riffs off the explosion of flavors one tastes with spices by literally exploding those flavors. Several tons of black pepper corns, cardamom, turmeric, paprika, cumin seeds, ginger, chili and coriander were placed in explosive bags, rigged to explode on certain notes. Looks delicious.
| |
Jan 08
This might look like the cut-stick project of a small child, but in fact this image visualizes the noise that a helicopter makes as it tears through the air. Really.
| |
Jan 07
While there are plenty of soundbars available for improving the sound of your home theater, most of them have to sit in front of your TV set or hang above or below it on the wall. The LG SoundPlate takes a different approach, by sitting underneath your flat screen TV’s base.
The latest generation of the SoundPlate, the LAB540W measures just 1.56-inches-tall, and can handle TVs measuring from 32 to 55 inches on top of it – though LG hasn’t announced a weight limit yet. This design allows the speaker to have a much deeper enclosure for improved sound, plus it provides an integrated 3D compatible Blu-ray player and amplifier, which makes for a much cleaner look than if you had a standalone Blu-ray player and a home theater receiver.
The all-in-one system offers a total of 320 watts, and is a “4.1″ system despite having no rear speakers – so I imagine that it offers some kind of virtual surround tech. For room-filling bass, it uses a wireless subwoofer.
There’s no word yet on pricing or a release date for the LAB540W SoundPlate.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.