Without the slightest intention, Microsoft is competing this year for the title of the quietest place in the world. And it’s not exactly because of a policy of whispering in its offices, but because the company built an anechoic chamber – a word that means “no echoes” and is used to describe those places without sound reflection – in the city of Redmond, in Washington, United States.
This anechoic chamber is capable of delivering an environment at -20.6 decibels (dB), yes negative twenty decibels. To give you an idea of what this entails, a silent library has, on average, about 40 dB positive. A hair dryer emits about 70 dB, and at the Metro rush hour it can be perceived about 90 dB. At higher levels, we have rock concerts – which can reach between 105 and 120 dB – and airplane turbines that easily exceed 140 dB.
Microsoft’s camera is lined with a material that absorbs any sound on the walls. That place is so quiet that it is possible to quietly listen to the heartbeat or stomach working. Prolonged exposure in an environment like this could result in a very unpleasant experience. Microsoft, like other tech companies, built the camera in order to test the speakers and microphones of its laptops, from the Surface line, and also the Cortana digital assistant – since it is activated by voice commands, it is essential that it be tested in environments with as little noise as possible.
Take a look at this explanation of how it works:
I think it’s important to note that three years ago, the record was -9 dB.
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