Listening for Sound Opportunities
CENSEO in the Emerald City
Toto, Tin Man, and a pair of ruby slippers? Not in this story… This is a tale of engineers, acousticians, and tapping machines. Now that we’ve eliminated most of our readers, let’s follow the yellow brick road to the enchanting city of Seattle, Washington. Imagine a scene, set in sepia tone. An acoustician [...]
Photoacoustic Detection of Environmental Pollutants
Environmental pollutants detected at parts-per-quadrillion. It is just one of the uses of a new photoacoustic measurement technique that researchers have refined to measure sound generated in the hundreds of kilohertz range, a level far more sensitive than previously detectable. Published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study conducted [...]
OCEAN Indicators of Musical Talent
What does your personality type say about your musical talent? Is there a link between musical sophistication and personal characteristics? A study from the University of Cambridge indicates that personality, particularly the tendency toward Openness, can be a strong indicator of musical ability. The study, of the largest to date on music and [...]
dB vs. dBA Using Octave Band Sound Levels
Octave band sound levels provide the sound at each frequency, but how then can dBA be calculated from the octave band sound values in dB? It’s a common question for Todd Beiler, acoustical engineer at CENSEO AV+Acoustics. The answer to the question is yes; dBA can be determined from octave band sound levels [...]
Acousticians, Think TANK
Just under 300 miles west of the CENSEO AV+Acoustics Denver, CO office location, in the remote town of Rangely, exists an incredible acoustical discovery. What was once an abandon water tower on a hill in a small mining town, is now a space for profound musical creation. The refurbished TANK’s acoustical value, producing long echoes and [...]
Discoveries in Listening to Atom
Photo: On the right, an artificial atom generates sound waves consisting of ripples on the surface of a solid. The sound, known as a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is picked up on the left by a “microphone” composed of interlaced metal fingers. According to theory, the sound consists of a stream of quantum [...]
Commitment to Silence
Take a moment, close your eyes, and listen. What do you hear? From my office this morning, I hear traffic from the street, birds chirping, the rhythmic tapping of a co-worker’s keyboard, and if I listen closely, a distant wind chime swaying in the breeze. Its peaceful, and I feel relaxed. However, it’s [...]
Thinking Outside the Shoebox :: Concert Hall Acoustics
“Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue.” -Plato It is widely recognized that early lateral reflections are significant in producing quality acoustics in a concert hall setting. The widening of the sound image to increase the perceived closeness of sound has been a technique [...]
Sounds of Battery Life, Unplugged
The simple sound of life all around us might be the key to making “plugging in” a thing of the past. A new energy-harvesting prototype has been found to produce energy, through the use of noise, in amounts great enough to charge mobile phones. Yet another discovery of the ways sound engineering and acoustical [...]