What does the quietest place on Earth look like, where the absence of sounds drives you crazy (5 photos)

If you value peace and quiet, you know that sometimes the complete absence of sound can be unbearable. Microsoft engineers have created an anechoic chamber where absolute silence reigns. What more could a modern person need, dreaming of a break from the hustle and bustle and solitude with their favorite books? But no one can endure even an hour in this chamber.





Excessive silence can cause serious discomfort to people. This was discovered by Microsoft specialists, who created the most soundproof chamber. This room will be used for research into new audio technologies. It is located at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.



It took the company's specialists two years to develop the world's most soundproof room. The room is so quiet that a person inside can hear blood flowing through their vessels, their heartbeat, and the creaking of their joints as they move. The lack of reverberation disrupts spatial perception, causing dizziness and unbearable tinnitus.





Microsoft's Chief Human Factors Engineer, Hundraj Gopal, told reporters an interesting fact about this facility:

"The longest anyone has spent continuously inside the chamber is about 55 minutes."



A person entering the room to test themselves and it is usually skeptical. But very soon they begin to realize how unbearable absolute silence is. This location is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the quietest place in the world, with sound levels 20 decibels below the threshold of human hearing.

How the quietest place in the world works

The chamber is a complex engineering feat. Its walls, base, and ceiling are composed of six layers of concrete and steel. Inside, the room features unique soundproofing developed by Microsoft specialists. The walls have a special configuration to prevent echoes. Additionally, the chamber is supported by springs that absorb any vibrations.



Microsoft's anechoic room is far from the first of its kind. Sound-proof chambers began to be developed in the United States as early as the 1940s. Back then, they were used to test professional microphones. Over time, the applications of such chambers expanded, beginning with their use in the development of audio equipment and the study of sound waves.



Such facilities now exist in many countries around the world, but the United States remains the leader in this field. The previous record for absolute silence also belonged to Americans. The chamber whose record Microsoft broke is located in South Minneapolis at Orfield Laboratories.

Microsoft is conducting numerous other promising studies that are literally on the verge of science fiction.