Imagine a place so quiet that you can't even imagine it. Welcome to the anechoic chamber in Orfield Laboratories, Minnesota.
This place, informally known as the quietest place on Earth, can blot out 99% of sound from outside. Sounds, erm, feels amazing, doesn't it? Sensitive tuning and sound-based instruments are developed here.
Before you book your tickets to Minnesota, think again. This is nothing like the picturesque Himalayas where you can sit down and meditate. The lack of sound forces you to hear your own bodily functions - like the beating of your heart and thudding of your lungs. Or something not-so-pleasant, the rumblings of your stomach. Every little sound is magnified in this chamber. And you, 'become the sound'.
Apparently, the brain is used to taking cues based on other sounds around us. In this chamber, there are no cues. The brain has to make up its own. So what does it do? Generate hallucinatory sounds of course. Once this happens, you begin to become disoriented. You cannot stand in the chamber because nothing is "relative" to you anymore. So you would require a chair within half-an-hour of entering the room.
The owner of the labs, called (guess?) Mr. Orfield, challenged people to sit in the chamber, in the dark. The longest record so far is held by a journalist, who was able to endure it for forty five minutes solid. I sure hope he's okay. This silence has been used by the manufacturers of Harley Davidson to make their motorbikes quieter, and by Nasa to give their astronauts an idea of what it will actually be like in space.
Entering this room could be a life-changing experience. What do you think? As for me, I'm adding this place to my "Top ten places to visit before I die" list! :)
This place, informally known as the quietest place on Earth, can blot out 99% of sound from outside. Sounds, erm, feels amazing, doesn't it? Sensitive tuning and sound-based instruments are developed here.
Before you book your tickets to Minnesota, think again. This is nothing like the picturesque Himalayas where you can sit down and meditate. The lack of sound forces you to hear your own bodily functions - like the beating of your heart and thudding of your lungs. Or something not-so-pleasant, the rumblings of your stomach. Every little sound is magnified in this chamber. And you, 'become the sound'.
Apparently, the brain is used to taking cues based on other sounds around us. In this chamber, there are no cues. The brain has to make up its own. So what does it do? Generate hallucinatory sounds of course. Once this happens, you begin to become disoriented. You cannot stand in the chamber because nothing is "relative" to you anymore. So you would require a chair within half-an-hour of entering the room.
The owner of the labs, called (guess?) Mr. Orfield, challenged people to sit in the chamber, in the dark. The longest record so far is held by a journalist, who was able to endure it for forty five minutes solid. I sure hope he's okay. This silence has been used by the manufacturers of Harley Davidson to make their motorbikes quieter, and by Nasa to give their astronauts an idea of what it will actually be like in space.
Entering this room could be a life-changing experience. What do you think? As for me, I'm adding this place to my "Top ten places to visit before I die" list! :)
Intriguing. Would love to visit this place! Disorientation doesn't sound too bad a deal for the experience! :P
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