Noise pollution is one of the banes of modern life. Chronic exposure to high levels of noise not only affects our hearing but also our stress levels and productivity, and even our physical and mental health.
An Israeli company, Silentium, says it has technology which can actively reduce noise pollution. The principle of eliminating waves of noise with other waves going in the opposite direction is not new, but the Israeli company says it have significantly improved the technology.
Vice Chairperson and CEO of Silentium Ltd Yossi Barath explained: "There is a physical phenomenon called destructive interference. It means that when waves are travelling into space, if you hit them with similar waves of the same volume, the same frequency, but shifted by 180 degrees, they will interfere with each other and cancel each other."
The company says it can achieve full spectrum noise reduction up to 10 decibels. A noise reduction chip has already been incorporated into some kitchen hoods.
The same levels of reduction are achieved when using an industrial vacuum cleaner and a ventilating system. The technology can either be embedded on the source of the noise or can create a "bubble" in open spaces. The technology captures ambient noise, creating a quiet zone.
In the future, even mainframe computers could produce very little noise, and therefore will be able to be placed anywhere, rather than being tucked into a closed room.