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  • - [Steve] The anechoic chamber

  • is a test lab for doing acoustic testing.

  • It's a chamber within a chamber within a chamber.

  • - [Woman] That's Steve.

  • - [Steve] I'm Steve Orfield, the founder of

  • Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis.

  • - [Woman] And we're talking about what it feels like

  • to sit in one of the quietest rooms on earth.

  • An anechoic chamber is a room that absorbs sound.

  • So, it's quiet.

  • - [Steve] When we put subjects in the anechoic chamber,

  • we sit them in a chair, and we turn off the lights.

  • - [Woman] It turns out that the only noises

  • you'd hear in there are noises

  • that come from inside your own body.

  • - [Steve] Right away, you'll usually hear

  • the sound of your ears buzzing.

  • You'll start to hear the joints

  • in your arms and in your legs,

  • like the sound of rubbing two pieces of wood together.

  • (wood grinding)

  • You'll clearly hear your heart beating.

  • Kind of a boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

  • (heart thumping)

  • The flow of the air into your lungs.

  • (lungs inhaling and exhaling)

  • - [Woman] And sounds from inside your body

  • that you might've heard outside the chamber

  • are suddenly so much louder.

  • - [Steve] Any noise that would be startling

  • outside the chamber would be

  • 16 times as startling inside the chamber.

  • - [Woman] Noises like your stomach growling,

  • (thunderous growling)

  • or your knuckles cracking.

  • (knuckles cracking and popping)

  • People don't last that long inside.

  • - [Steve] Maybe an hour and 15 minutes.

  • - [Woman] And that's mainly because of one of two reasons.

  • - [Steve] Some people find that very relaxing.

  • Some people find that fearful or claustrophobic.

  • - [Woman] One person's peace and quiet

  • is another's personal nightmare.

  • (whimsical music)

- [Steve] The anechoic chamber

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