ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space.: the techniques of sound control

by melissa and nate

Keys to soundproofing:
1. Density- making sound pass through multilayered material with different densities is effective in reducing noise.

Sound Absorbing Materials: cork board, carpet, open-celled foam, wood, chair, person, blankets (fiberglass, felt, wood wool), perforated tiles etc., lead

diffuser panel (diffuses sound to prevent interrupting waves)

foam

spray-in open-cell foam insulation

multi-density composite fiber panel

vinyl sound barrier

2. Isolation- isolating the station from other surfaces by using buffering materials will prevent sound from escaping and entering the station

-Rubber or vibration absorbing buffers between structure and ground/floor/walls

-Cavity within walls reduces vibrations (outer wall furred-out)

3. Shape-the shape of the station will determine how the sound is distributed. Because the station will be relatively small, this is not as important of an issue as materials is, but it could inform the design of the structure and overall shape of the station.

-Concave shapes reflect sound back to the source

-A spherical shape, like the egg chair Katy mentioned, will focus the sound to the center and not allow much exterior noise.

-Absorbent material will be necessary regardless of the shape because of the scale of the project.

Speaker Placement: the issue here is to prevent feedback between the microphone(s) and the speakers. If the speakers are kept in front of the mic, there shouldn't be a problem. A highly sensitive area mic would make Ron's voice echo on his end. A directional mic could solve this problem by placing the mic close to the user. This type of mic, however, should not be pointed in the direction of a speaker or feedback will result.

Here are some proposed methods to controlling the spatial characteristics of sound based on body position and environment. The following are mentioned in Sound:Space by Bernhard Leitner.