The Quiet Revolution
As the demand for quiet environments has intensified, the acoustics sector has finally responded. Urbanization, faster industrial production and the new culture of privacy in medical facilities and offices have created an insistence for refined acoustic sound levels. As a culture, we want our environments to be quieter, including both loudness and audibility of the sound. Mechanical tones, low frequency sounds, are annoying and present in most human habitats. Heating, air conditioning, ventilation, generators, manufacturing equipment, computer servers, aircraft, subways – all examples of mechanical tones invading our space on a daily basis. In noisy spaces, we may talk louder, increase the volume of the radio or television, wear ear plugs or close a door to escape the tones that interfere with our thinking, writing, productivity or creativity.
Thus, we are beginning the quiet revolution, as we define “quiet” using new parameters. New York City has passed a “Construction Noise Ordinance”. Cambridge Massachusetts has outlawed leaf blowers. The HIPPA Act insists on a patient’s privacy when conversing with a doctor or nurse. Each year, we redefine how we interact with noise in our environments. Each year, Americans and Europeans consider noise one of the most important issues in determining quality of life.
New materials have been developed in response to these demands that now permit acousticians to diminish noise, improve sound quality and reduce low frequency noise without adding substantial weight and thickness to the existing architecture. DuPont LoWave is an example of a new passive technology that permits us to reduce low frequency tones in various environments. LoWave reduces mechanical tones in the 60 to 400Hz range, quieting the mechanical tones we often find intrusive. Previously, we used heavy, thick mass to reduce these tones but the use of mass is often limited by the available space or weight restrictions. For the first time, noise control can attenuate low frequency tones without building concrete walls. 2009 is the year of “Quiet”.