Imagine stepping into one of the quietest rooms in the world, called an anechoic chamber. This special room is designed to stop sound reflections and echoes, making it incredibly silent. I decided to spend hours in this room, all alone and in complete darkness, to see how it would affect my body and mind. I was invited by 3M to visit their innovation center, where they have both this super quiet room and one of the loudest rooms in the world, known as the reverberation chamber. I was excited to try this challenging experience for science!
When we arrived at the 3M testing center, we met Brian, who works in the lab. He first took us into the reverberation chamber. This room is the opposite of the anechoic chamber because it is designed to reflect sound perfectly, making it extremely loud. When sound hits the walls, instead of being absorbed, it bounces back into the room, creating an intense noise. Extra reflectors are added to ensure the sound is evenly distributed for testing.
To show how the sound changes, I did a quick test by walking away from the camera to see how my voice’s volume changed. It was amazing to hear how muddled and reflected the sound became!
Next, it was time to enter the anechoic chamber. This room was much larger than I expected and felt very strange. It is a full anechoic chamber, with fiberglass wedges placed to absorb sound. When sound waves hit these wedges, they turn into heat, making the room incredibly quiet.
Before spending hours alone in the room, I did some tests to compare it to the reverberation room. I clapped my hands and walked backward to see how the echo changed as I moved away from the camera.
Then, Brian locked me in the room alone to see how long I could last. At first, it was peaceful, but I felt a bit disoriented. I kept my phone with me in case I needed help, as no one could hear me inside. After about 30 minutes, I noticed a ringing in my ears, which was a bit unsettling. In the real world, our ears always hear some sound, but in the anechoic room, that pressure is gone, so my ears felt different.
By the hour mark, I was deep in thought but still okay, although I was nervous about the lights going off. I have a fear of the dark, so it was a bit scary. I had to sit down to avoid losing my balance. The chamber is used as a tool to focus on pure information without distractions. With no visual input, I felt like I could hear my thoughts more clearly.
Midway through sitting in darkness, I realized this part of the video would have no footage, so I turned on my cellphone light for a quick shot. As time went on, I started to worry if everyone had forgotten me in there.
Eventually, I made it through the experience. It was unique to be in a place where I could see nothing and hear nothing. I survived the world’s quietest room without losing my mind, although that might still be up for debate!
Overall, it was a fascinating experience, and I want to thank 3M for inviting me to their facilities. 3M focuses on science and innovation, and their products are likely found throughout your home. I created a series on TikTok and Instagram about the science behind their innovations, which I hope you find as interesting as I do.
Thank you for reading about this adventure! Make sure to explore more science stories, and we’ll see you next time for more exciting discoveries.
Try creating your own mini reverberation chamber using household items. Use a cardboard box and line it with aluminum foil to reflect sound. Clap your hands inside and observe how the sound changes compared to clapping outside the box. Discuss with your classmates why the sound behaves differently.
Work in groups to design a model of an anechoic chamber using materials like foam or sponge to absorb sound. Test its effectiveness by measuring the sound level inside and outside the model using a smartphone app. Present your findings to the class.
Spend 10 minutes in a quiet place and write a journal entry about how the silence affects your thoughts and feelings. Reflect on how this compares to being in a noisy environment. Share your experiences with the class and discuss the impact of sound on concentration and mood.
Use an online sound wave simulator to visualize how sound waves behave in different environments. Experiment with settings that mimic anechoic and reverberation chambers. Record your observations and explain how sound waves are absorbed or reflected in each scenario.
Write a short story or create a comic strip about a character who visits both the loudest and quietest rooms in the world. Illustrate how these experiences affect the character’s senses and emotions. Share your story with the class and discuss the science behind the narrative.
Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
—
This is one of the quietest rooms in the world, known as an anechoic chamber. It’s perfectly designed to remove sound reflections and echo, and I’m about to spend hours inside it alone in complete darkness to see what happens to my body and brain. I was invited by 3M to visit their innovation center and their anechoic chamber, as well as one of the loudest rooms in the world, their reverberation chamber, which shook my whole body. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to potentially put myself through a challenging experience for the sake of science.
It feels a bit suffocating, as there are rumors that if you stay in an anechoic chamber for long enough, you might lose your mind. We’re going to see if that happens to me. When we arrived at the 3M testing center, we were met by Brian, who works in the lab. He first brought us into the reverberation chamber, which is essentially the opposite of the anechoic chamber.
The room is designed to perfectly reflect sound, making it very intense and loud. When sound leaves the source, instead of being absorbed by the walls or other objects, almost all of the acoustic energy that hits the walls is reflected back into the room. A few extra reflectors are added to keep the distribution of sound even for testing purposes.
To give you a sense of how muddled and reflected the sound can get, I did a quick test while walking away from the camera to see how the volume of my voice changes.
Finally, the moment had come to enter the anechoic chamber. It feels so strange and is much larger than I expected. What makes this room unique is that it’s a full anechoic chamber, with fiberglass wedges placed strategically to absorb sound. As sound waves hit those wedges, they are converted into heat.
Before locking myself in the room alone for hours, I wanted to do a couple of tests to compare this room to the reverberation room. I did a quick clap and walked backwards to see how the volume changes in my voice, as the amount of echo reaching the camera will change as I get further away.
Then, Brian locked me in the room alone to see how long I could last. Initially, I found it really peaceful, but I felt disoriented. I was told to keep my phone on me in case I needed anything, as they wouldn’t be able to hear me. After about 30 minutes of silence, I became very aware of my body. I could hear a ringing in my ears, which was a bit unsettling.
In the real world, our ears are constantly hearing some sound, but in the anechoic room, that pressure is gone, so my ears were experiencing less pressure. It’s definitely a different state of being without sound, and I started to acclimatize to it. I felt more in tune with my body, and my attention to those sensations heightened.
By the hour mark, I was deep in thought but still sane, though I was dreading the lights going off. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a fear of the dark, and it felt a bit scary. I had to sit down to avoid losing my balance.
The chamber is used as a development tool, allowing for pure information without distractions. I felt like I could hear things more clearly in my head now that the lights were off, as I had no visual input.
Midway through sitting in darkness, I realized this part of the video would have no footage, so I turned on my cellphone light for a quick shot. As time went on, I started to panic a little, wondering if everyone had forgotten me in there.
Eventually, I made it through the experience. It was rare to be in a space where I could see nothing and hear nothing. I did survive the world’s quietest room and did not lose my mind, though that diagnosis is still up for debate.
Ultimately, it was a fascinating experience that I had never felt before, and I want to thank 3M for bringing me to their facilities. 3M focuses on science and innovation, and their products are likely found throughout your home. I created a series on TikTok and Instagram covering more about the science behind their innovations, which I hope you find as fascinating as I do.
Thank you for watching this video! Make sure to like and subscribe, and we’ll see you next time for more science.
—
This version removes any potentially sensitive or inappropriate content while maintaining the essence of the original transcript.
Sound – Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person’s or animal’s ear. – In physics class, we learned how sound travels faster through water than through air.
Chamber – A closed space or cavity where sound can resonate or be contained. – The scientist used an echo chamber to study how sound waves behave in different environments.
Silence – The absence of sound or noise. – After the experiment, the room fell into silence as the students waited for the results.
Echoes – Reflected sound waves that are heard after the original sound has been produced. – The echoes in the large hall made it difficult to understand the speaker clearly.
Reflections – The bouncing back of light, sound, or heat when it hits a surface that it cannot pass through. – In our physics lab, we observed the reflections of sound waves off different materials.
Waves – Disturbances that transfer energy from one place to another, often through a medium like air or water. – We studied how waves can be longitudinal, like sound waves, or transverse, like light waves.
Experience – The knowledge or skill acquired by observing or participating in events or experiments. – The students gained valuable experience by conducting their own physics experiments.
Testing – The process of conducting experiments to explore scientific theories or hypotheses. – Testing different materials helped us understand which ones are the best conductors of electricity.
Innovation – The introduction of new ideas, methods, or devices in science and technology. – The innovation of the telescope allowed scientists to explore the universe in greater detail.
Physics – The branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. – In physics, we learn about the fundamental forces that govern the universe, such as gravity and electromagnetism.
