Redesigned Window Stops Sound But Not Air | Hacker News Reader

Redesigned Window Stops Sound But Not Air

technologyreview.com

80 pointsjalanco26 comments

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

What about the screeching Baboons?

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

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

I used to live in the country, but I wasn't very close to farms with livestock.

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv6sBuwzLhk http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/06/sono-window-noise-cleaner-...

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Ponoko will laser cut and ship you acrylic for fairly cheap: http://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/show-material/19-acrylic...

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.

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.

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

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.

Wouldn't the obvious solution be to use these as exterior windows and use a second set of traditional windows as interior windows?

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

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