
Redesigned Window Stops Sound But Not Air - jalanco
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/516766/redesigned-window-stops-sound-but-not-air-say-materials-scientists/
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mbell
I pulled the TL numbers from the paper and came up with an STC rating of
around 31dB for the 20mm hole model. That is roughly the same STC rating as a
decent dual pane window.

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jonmrodriguez
Nice, that's good, right? Since it's as good as a dual pane window and also
lets air through.

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mbell
It's not terrible, it's certainly impressive that they achieved that level of
isolation with holes in it. Windows designed for high sound isolation will
have STC ratings in the 40-48ish range. An STC increase of 10 equates to half
as much sound passing through (as a human perceives it anyway).

As for the air passage, I'm curious about the real world flow numbers.

Just an off the cuff guess: it seems like the core principle is based on
resonant cavities which I think would result in higher air pressure in the
cavity than inside or outside the window. In a setup like that with calm
ambient conditions I wouldn't think much air would actually pass through the
panels, the higher pressure in the cavity would act as a bit of a wall. In
windy conditions I would imagine much more air would pass through, but I bet
there would be a corresponding decrease in sound isolation as air blasting
through the cavity wouldn't be able to dissipate as much energy.

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joemaller1
I live in a city. Noise is a problem, but so are bugs and dirt and soot.

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coolsunglasses
Thanks for reminding me how much I want to escape to the countryside.

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mikro2nd
I live in the countryside. Ask me about neighbouring Sheep, Goats, barking
Dogs, braying Donkeys, logging trucks, tractors, screeching Baboons, honking
wild Geese,...

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BSousa
What about the screeching Baboons?

Of all of those, seem to be the one with the highest hilarity possibilities :)

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X4
idk, I'd be afraid of screeching Baboons
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4hudgUt1fQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4hudgUt1fQ)
but these windows at least stop their sound, so there's no problem ;)

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babby
This reminds me of that Sono device, which seems more convenient.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv6sBuwzLhk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv6sBuwzLhk)
[http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/06/sono-window-noise-
cleaner-...](http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/06/sono-window-noise-cleaner-
tunes-out-annoying-city-sounds-tunes-in-good-ones/)

Haven't read up on whether it works as advertised. Anyone have insight?

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brianmcdonough
This is innovative, but sure to be cost-prohibitive. I hope they can find a
way to may it something that is more than a conversation starter for the rich
because it is really cool.

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sschueller
? Appears to be a cheap solution. Just a few sheets of clear acrylic or am I
missing something?

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tghw
I don't think you are. I came across this a number of months ago and looked
into building one myself. You could pretty easily start out with a couple of
sheets of acrylic and make a grid to separate them. Then you just have to
drill a lot of holes. I think getting the grid right would be the hardest part
as a DIY project, but you could pretty easily imagine a machine cutting slots
so it all fits together nicely.

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krasin
laser cutters are very inexpensive and accessible nowadays. Once somebody
published a device, producing such a set of acrylic sheets with holes is not a
problem at all.

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bluefinity
Ponoko will laser cut and ship you acrylic for fairly cheap:
[http://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/show-
material/19-acrylic...](http://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/show-
material/19-acrylic-clear-transparent)

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X4
hmm.. you could use solar energy to heat the air coming through, otherwise the
building would cool down right?

Also is it possible to let the air pass through into one direction only? I
think strategically placing incoming/outgoing air-pass through windows, could
make a decent air-flow (+heating) system.

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prewett
What I like about a good window is its ability to let in light without also
letting in the air, as I've observed that outside air tends to be rather
colder (or hotter) than my preference.

Cool science, though. If they can build these cheaply and preferably thin, it
might be good for inside the house. Or in the paper-thin apartment walls, and
maybe along with some much-needed thermal insulation while they are in the
wall anyway.

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Nux
Wasps & co will love this kind of stuff. :-)

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fru2013
I wonder if you could build a temperature control system into this? I feel
like without it, this might let too much cold air into your home.

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taeric
I was thinking this could be great for hiding the noise of things already
inside the house that need decent air flow. Consider if you could get a few of
these around any compressor you have for hvac. Or, amusingly, around an attic
fan so that it could quite literally ventilate the entire house without adding
too much noise.

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intull
Imagine an open-air like room on the terrace with such windows! Ah the
bliss..!

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X4
yeah, that would be a dream and it would feel really surreal, while it's
actually possible. I hope those windows aren't too expensive. I would
definitely order some

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JoeAltmaier
Wait, it lets air through. So its not a window; its a screen?

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bradknowles
Or a fence. An optically clear, noise-reducing screen/fence.

For use in those places where you don't want to impede airflow (think a
transom over a doorframe), but where you do want to reduce noise transmission.

Pretty cool!

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donpark
Guess South Korean submarines of the future will get even quieter and covered
with tiny holes.

