Pinholes and Plastic Wrap Make Solid Walls "Transparent" To Sound

Why would you do this by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 08:02 · Score: 5, Insightful

I thought we were trying to figure out how to keep sound from coming through the wall, not help it!

Re:Why would you do this by AK+Marc · 2013-06-20 08:13 · Score: 2

People building a nursery may want something like this, or use in prisons to reduce privacy without removing all of it (not that they can't just put a mic on one side and a speaker on the other, as is done today).

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Re:Why would you do this by WillgasM · 2013-06-20 08:18 · Score: 4, Funny

If only there was an article enumerating possible applications of this technology.
Re:Why would you do this by JustinOpinion · 2013-06-20 08:39 · Score: 4, Informative

Well, TFA suggests:

The research has potential uses in creating security barriers that permit voice communication to pass through, and in developing types of sound-based microscopes that could find application in research laboratories and medical practice.
The scientific paper further notes:

Such a high concentration of acoustic energy into a small hole of radius enables sensitive detection of acoustic signals with subwavelength resolution ... the present work not only opens the way to the efficient realization of [near-field acoustics] in fluid ultrasonics and underwater acoustics, but also to the analogous realization in solid-state ultrasonics.
More broadly, results obtained for one kind of wave behavior often have implications for other kinds. I.e.: results in controlling acoustic waves sometimes have implications in controlling/sensing light-fields, or radio waves, or even more esoteric things like electron beams or neutron beams (which are also regulated by wave equations).
Re:Why would you do this by hedwards · 2013-06-20 10:58 · Score: 1

Doubtful, you'd have to replace the entire wall when you no longer wanted to hear through it. What's more, it would work both ways, which means that not only would you hear your baby, but your baby would hear whatever nasty stuff you're doing next door.
A baby monitor OTOH, can be carried from room to room as need be, and can only be heard in one direction. The main disadvantage would be the batteries or the possibility of eaves dropping.
Re:Why would you do this by Jamu · 2013-06-20 11:18 · Score: 2

They should have talked to whoever designed my flat.

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Re:Why would you do this by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 11:29 · Score: 5, Funny

How nasty could it be? That baby was all up in that not too long ago.
Re:Why would you do this by xenobyte · 2013-06-20 18:12 · Score: 2

..., or use in prisons to reduce privacy without removing all of it (not that they can't just put a mic on one side and a speaker on the other, as is done today).
Is reducing privacy as much as possible part of the punishment?
I thought prisons were about keeping criminals off the street in a manner able to handle all kinds of people, from the quiet types to the ultra violent and/or gangbanger types? - I don't see how removing privacy and making all noises travel easily helps this.
An ideal prison for lifers without parole (and possible also death row) would be small individual cells with a shower and toilet, with or without a windows. The inmate will spend all his/her time there except for visits. All cells would be soundproofed to the extreme and the inmate would only talk to the staff, never other inmates. There would be both a tv and access to cable, DVDs and games. Also a computer with monitored internet access (unless removed by the judge) will be available. No need for any socializing activities as the inmate is never to be released. It's just secure storage with conveniences.

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Re:Why would you do this by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 23:42 · Score: 1

I thought prisons were about keeping criminals off the street in a manner able to handle all kinds of people, from the quiet types to the ultra violent and/or gangbanger types?
No, that is a gross oversimplification.
When it comes to handling criminals there are three major things to weight against each other: Rehabilitation, deterration, protection and revenge.
If you intend to rehabilitate a criminal then imprisonment can serve as a punishment that will "teach" the criminal that it shouldn't commit crimes. It isn't very efficient since the imprisonment comes so late after the crime that it doesn't have a psychological impact on the prisoner, only a conscious one. It only works as long as the criminal thinks that he/she will be caught.
As a deterrent imprisonment works to a certain extent. Studies have shown that duration of imprisonment only works for times up to 4 years. After that the duration becomes too abstract. If one murder will give you 4 years and a second murder will give you 8 years then the threat of imprisonment won't prevent the murderer from murdering again. The murderers humanitarian values servers as a much better deterrent here and not alienating him servers society better.
As a way to protect society from non-rehabilitatable criminals prison can work but in general that is not really desirable. If the criminal can be rehabilitated than that option is cheaper/better for society. If he can't be rehabilitated then you can't ever let him/her out.
As a means of revenge for a crime that is committed that is a personal matter between the victim and the criminal. Revenge generally tends to lead to escalation and even if it might seem unfair I think that societies stance on it should be that revenge is something that should be suppressed but the victim should be compensated for any loss as far as it is possible. That is; if you believe in revenge then the government should "buy" the right of revenge from the victim and the treat the criminal as benefits society the most.
An interesting tidbit about rehabilitation of criminals there is currently a study undergoing that have found that about 40% of repeat violence criminals suffer from ADHD. They are simply unable to control their violent urges before they are able to control them whereas a normal person would suppress it before it came to action. Early test in a prison have shown that if the repeat offender is correctly diagnosed then rehabilitation can be as simple as informing the criminal of their condition and giving them the option to take medication. Contrary to popular belief many criminals aren't really evil and do not really want to commit crimes.
Rehabilitation can be a simple as education and counseling.
This doesn't remove the need for prisons. You still need it as a deterrent but it can function in parallel with rehabilitation.
Re:Why would you do this by JeanCroix · 2013-06-21 01:01 · Score: 1

When it comes to handling criminals there are three major things to weight against each other: Rehabilitation, deterration, protection and revenge.
By my count, that's four major things, Cardinal Ximinez.
Re:Why would you do this by AK+Marc · 2013-06-22 15:09 · Score: 1

What's the point of prison? Punishment, deterrent, revenge, other?

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Thank god the research is finally paying off by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 08:02 · Score: 5, Funny

Fantastic, now we have walls that sound like they aren't even there. What's next, ovens that are just as hot on the outside as they are on the inside?

Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by interkin3tic · 2013-06-20 08:34 · Score: 2

Hey man, not all research is immediately useful, but can lead to other things. One day, this research might lead to better speakers that take up a whole wall. Or better acoustics in concert halls. Maybe even walls that allow not just sound to pass through, but people and light and everything else as well. They might call that last one "there is no wall here." How crazy would that be?
Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by Kingkaid · 2013-06-20 08:36 · Score: 1

Not ovens silly. It will mean when you hear noise from the apartment next door you can say "Those are well engineer walls".
Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by NatasRevol · 2013-06-20 08:48 · Score: 4, Funny

Those well engineers suck at building walls.

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Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by pr0fessor · 2013-06-20 08:50 · Score: 1

I was going to say that they should study the walls in some of the apartments I lived in when I was younger, they appeared to amplify sounds passing through them.
Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by Jafafa+Hots · 2013-06-20 09:28 · Score: 2

I lived for two years in Clearwater, FL near the gulf.
Hotter than hell, but everyone used to say "but there's always a nice breeze!"
I'm not sure how you call what feels like an open blast furnace "a nice breeze."

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Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by behrooz0az · 2013-06-20 09:37 · Score: 2

...but people and light and everything else as well.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think thats a wall anymore.

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Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by tlhIngan · 2013-06-20 09:59 · Score: 1

One day, this research might lead to better speakers that take up a whole wall.
Or more practically, the ability to have a nice surround sound system at home without speakers and wires popping out of the wall. No more compromising the audio because your significant other wanted to put something where the speaker is.
Or the ability to have huge ass speakers in the walls without disrupting the aesthetics of the room. You can bet more than one person was subject to buying Bose purely because their significant other objected to anything but the cute little speakers.
Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by interkin3tic · 2013-06-20 10:05 · Score: 1

That would have been a woosh, but there was a normal, low-tech wall in the way.
Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by marcosdumay · 2013-06-20 13:50 · Score: 1

So, the GP should have heard a "crash"?

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Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by plover · 2013-06-20 15:39 · Score: 1

Yeah, but it's a moist heat.

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Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by unitron · 2013-06-20 17:36 · Score: 1

... Maybe even walls that allow not just sound to pass through, but people and light and everything else as well. They might call that last one "there is no wall here." How crazy would that be?
The theater already has one of those, they call it the fourth wall.

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Re: Thank god the research is finally paying off by pruss · 2013-06-21 01:10 · Score: 1

i remember reading that breezes above body temperature actually heat you up.
Re:Thank god the research is finally paying off by fyngyrz · 2013-06-21 13:45 · Score: 1

ok, idiot mods. it looks redundant NOW, but when I made the comment, the GP was at zero, and it was just as fucking funny then, you twerps. See, that makes it INSIGHTFUL.
I can't quite decide what's worse; slashdot's stupid, broken moderation system, or the prevalence of stupid, broken moderators. I will agree that the combination is breathtaking, though.
lol and +1 to me.

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And in other news... by RdeCourtney · 2013-06-20 08:04 · Score: 3, Informative

Researchers find that by putting a glass to a wall, helps sound travel through rigid surfaces as well.

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Re:And in other news... by lxs · 2013-06-20 08:16 · Score: 3, Funny

It's like that very old joke: Earlier today researchers announced the invention of a device that makes it possible to see through brick walls. They have named this contraption a "window."
Re:And in other news... by AK+Marc · 2013-06-20 08:19 · Score: 1

So this one, they'll name "passive speaker"? It's nothing more than a microphone and passive speaker in one, one side of the plastic wrap providing each of the two functions.

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Re:And in other news... by nospam007 · 2013-06-20 10:43 · Score: 1

"So this one, they'll name "passive speaker"?"
No, it's just a 'hole in the wall'.
Re:And in other news... by Anarchduke · 2013-06-20 16:43 · Score: 2

But its a glorious achievement. Perhaps they should call it a glory hole. Or is that name already taken?

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I know who'd buy such technology by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 08:06 · Score: 1

This technology is going to be widely used by builders of apartments and condominium complexes. They are constantly striving to build thinner and thinner walls. This is going to revolutionize the industry.

As an apartment dweller by sl4shd0rk · 2013-06-20 08:06 · Score: 5, Funny

It would be nice to use plastic wrap to make walls impenetrable by sounds of penetration.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by icebike · 2013-06-20 08:17 · Score: 1

Mine are also quite fond of turning on every faucet in their apartment at the same time and then banging on the pipes.
No doubt they believe the guy shoveling coal into the boiler downstairs has fallen asleep.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by judoguy · 2013-06-20 08:18 · Score: 5, Informative

There is vinyl sheeting for just this purpose.
Mass Loaded Vinyl is a sheet of heavy vinyl that is loosely hung to absorb sound. Usually hung in the wall between the drywall layers for appearance sake, would still work just fine tacked on the outside of the wall separating you from your noisy neighbors.
Of course, sound will travel through the ceiling and floor as well.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by I'm+New+Around+Here · 2013-06-20 08:19 · Score: 1

That's funny, I was thinking the exact same thing, what with the family of 5 elephants and their dog that moved in last month. Do your neighbors to heavy construction late at night too? Mine are also quite fond of turning on every faucet in their apartment at the same time and then banging on the pipes.
Surely science can do something for us?
I think the pharmaceutical sciences have done enough for you for a while.
Go to bed, and let us know if you are still seeing pink elephants in the morning.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by macraig · 2013-06-20 08:20 · Score: 1

I second that wish!
(I'm not an apartment dweller, but... I "own" a 2-story townhouse with a 2-story shared wall.)
Re:As an apartment dweller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 09:12 · Score: 1

> you're not doing it right.

FTFY
Re:As an apartment dweller by h4rr4r · 2013-06-20 09:17 · Score: 1

How is that any different than an apartment? Because you own a door to the outside?
Re:As an apartment dweller by master5o1 · 2013-06-20 09:22 · Score: 5, Funny

If she doesn't make a sound, you're not doing it right.
FTFY.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 09:26 · Score: 1

The delineation is because:
1) They share a single wall with their neighbours (while most apartments, barring the end units, share 2 or more walls -- not including floors/ceiling if multi-levelled),
2) They have nobody living above them or below them,
3) Townhouses are usually larger (in square footage offered), particularly if it's a duplex unit -- these are usually the equivalent of two small houses put together sharing a single wall.
Re:As an apartment dweller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 09:42 · Score: 1

Wow, expensive, and for something that weighs a crapload (1 pound per square foot, and the smallest/cheapest roll covers 68 square feet). You wouldn't easily be able to "hang" this or "tack it on" to the outside of an existing wall. Dropping this stuff down into an existing wall is usually not possible given the amount of reconstruction that would be warranted (e.g. having to cut large slits in the floor or roof (many MDUs lack crawlspace) or possibly the wall itself). This stuff is, as you state initially, meant to be put between the walls during construction -- which no landlord will ever consider doing, given its cost. A sad but true reality is that landlords are universally cheap bastards, and often ignorant -- for example my landlord believes that fibre glass insulation is a sufficient noise dampener (yes I actually had this conversation).
Economically it'd be a lot more effective if human beings (okay, maybe just Americans) were actually aware of what living in an MDU (multi-dwelling unit) requires: people who walk light-footed, do not play music loud, do not own preposterous home entertainment systems pushing insane decibel ratings, and who are without children (age does not matter -- babies are just as loud as toddlers, just in a different fashion). Or rephrased more simply: are respectful and aware of the fact they are living around other people and therefore think of how their actions/noise may affect those around them before doing so. (This is how I have operated/lived all my life, and of the 30-some MDUs I've lived in, landlords and tenants alike have always told me "You're as quiet as a mouse, we never know if you're home!" -- good, that's how it should be!).
And before someone says it -- because every Slashdot article I've seen that mentions apartment dwelling has it -- "So move", despite being a legitimate point, is not pragmatic. Some of us live in areas with MDUs built in the mid-1940s (with little to no renovation having occurred, i.e. electrical is still using a single 10A circuit, barring kitchen/bathroom which gets its own 15A), and aside from dropping US$900,000 on a house (which doesn't guarantee noise dampening either!), it just doesn't make financial sense. So please be realistic. :-)
Re:As an apartment dweller by hubie · 2013-06-20 09:56 · Score: 2

Why do you think the rest of the world is quiet? I've stayed in some pretty noisy places outside of the US.
Re:As an apartment dweller by macraig · 2013-06-20 13:08 · Score: 2

A single common two-story wall is MUCH worse than any two single-story walls. You've never lived in that situation, or you'd already know why. All the impacts, vibration and resonance from the entire linked second floor subfloor is funneled into that wall, which acts like a giant subwoofer in response.
Actually I got off easy because I'm on the end of a four-dwelling structure: were I living in one of the two central dwellings, I'd have TWO shared two-story walls instead of just one.
Re:As an apartment dweller by macraig · 2013-06-20 13:10 · Score: 1

Read my reply to the AC that also replied to you.
Re:As an apartment dweller by plover · 2013-06-20 15:49 · Score: 1

You had a family of elephants? Luxury. We had a tribe of howler monkeys move in next door, where they apparently rewarded their children's behavior of "squealing when excited", "shrieking when talking", and "screaming when unhappy". The only good to come out of the housing crisis was when they were foreclosed upon and moved out.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by hilltaker7 · 2013-06-20 16:51 · Score: 1

Or one of your kids is still awake.
Re:As an apartment dweller by master5o1 · 2013-06-20 17:50 · Score: 1

If you've got kids, you're doing it wrong.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by Maxo-Texas · 2013-06-20 18:47 · Score: 1

A lot of cultures have different noise standards than traditional US standards.
I have a friend who regularly is run out of her house by noise so loud you can hear it inside wearing gun headsets and the county police can't legally do anything.
So she comes to my house inside the city limits where we have noise limits after midnight.

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Re:As an apartment dweller by macraig · 2013-06-21 04:07 · Score: 1

I had previously lived in apartments with three neighbors - two on sides and one up or down - but never experienced anything as bad as the situation here, after the adjacent townhouse owned by the city suddenly started getting rented out after sitting vacant for at least 5 years. I never had a chance to know what was coming until it was years too late for me to back out of escrow. Even though the city is the landlord, they are utterly unapologetic about the state of affairs. I tried exactly your approach with the first three tenants; let's just say the attempts failed miserably and in ways you wouldn't believe unless you had been a fly on the wall. The latest fourth tenant is an ex-Liberian pastor who might prove respectful. I had the same talk with him, but with a local security guard as a wingman.

New NSA-Approved Building Code by justthinkit · 2013-06-20 08:10 · Score: 5, Funny

New NSA-Approved Building Code

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Re:New NSA-Approved Building Code by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 09:09 · Score: 5, Funny

I believe this building technique has already been used on my apartment building...

Let's see them patent the drum all over again by icebike · 2013-06-20 08:14 · Score: 4, Insightful

Ok, build a bunch of drum heads into a wall and notice they act just like, well, drum heads.
Brilliant. An acoustic diaphragm.

Can't think of a single use for this other than eves dropping where no electronics were allowed.

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Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by jeffmeden · 2013-06-20 08:22 · Score: 3, Interesting

Ok, build a bunch of drum heads into a wall and notice they act just like, well, drum heads.
Brilliant. An acoustic diaphragm.
Can't think of a single use for this other than eves dropping where no electronics were allowed.
NSA Jokes, apartment sex jokes, etc. aside this is apparently a potential way to increase the precision of ultrasound scanning for medical diagnosis. As medical imaging is being used extensively to diagnose early cancer (among many other things), advances like this could have really profound effects on healthcare.
Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by sir-gold · 2013-06-20 08:23 · Score: 3, Informative

The important part isn't the membrane, it's the fact that the hole was smaller than the wavelength of the sound, which,according to conventional theories about wave propagation, should not have allowed any sound though, membrane or no membrane
Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by Hatta · 2013-06-20 08:27 · Score: 1

Can't think of a single use for this other than eves dropping where no electronics were allowed.
It would be nice to be able to turn the stereo on in the living room and hear it from the kitchen without cranking the volume up to eleven.

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Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by mdielmann · 2013-06-20 09:38 · Score: 1

So the theory is incorrect (more likely incomplete). That's good news for science - something else to think about for a few years!
I'd be unsurprised to learn that the reasons are due to air being a fluid, the holes being spread out over a large surface (similar to the enhanced resolution of a telescope array), and the holes being large enough for air to flow through. Compression waves in the air pass through the holes, propagate on the other side, and are amplified by the membrane. I guess I could read the article, but that would break tradition.

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Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by archshade · 2013-06-20 10:04 · Score: 3, Interesting

There's also a use in controlled/clean rooms. You can already get some something similar, there called Talk-Throughs (not affiliated, just top google hit).
I am not sure if this technology has a benefit over the existing solution, but it may. Maybe just because it looks cool. There is also a section at the bottom of TFA that gives over uses.

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Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 11:45 · Score: 1

The important part isn't the membrane, it's the fact that the hole was smaller than the wavelength of the sound, which,according to conventional theories about wave propagation, should not have allowed any sound though, membrane or no membrane
This works because the sheet converts sound into pressure waves... like y'know... a drum. It absolutely is the conventional theory as to what happens when you have small holes in an acoustical partition (with or without a membrane). See also: the acoustic baffles for the air conditioning in any professionally designed recording space.
Re:Let's see them patent the drum all over again by jbengt · 2013-06-20 12:02 · Score: 2

Can't think of a single use for this other than eves dropping where no electronics were allowed.
Actually, this might be useful for the design of sound attenuators. Letting the sound out of a space (say an HVAC duct) into another in order to absorb it with heavy weight mineral wool or the like could be a common application. TFA didn't go into any details, though, so I don't know if this could be any improvement over what is already done. (It sure sounds similar to how a lot of silencer walls are already constructed)

Just discovered? by DougOtto · 2013-06-20 08:14 · Score: 2

I think the bathroom across from my office has this "technology" already.

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Finally by ArcadeMan · 2013-06-20 08:17 · Score: 5, Funny

Spying gear for Bond. Amish Bond.

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Is it one way or bidirectional? by niftymitch · 2013-06-20 08:21 · Score: 4, Interesting

Is this trick bidirectional?

If it is mono-directional it has application as sound proofing.

If it is bidirectional then the listener can be heard doing what listeners do as well as the "target".

If regions could be made "transparent" then 3D audio precision might be possible.

Interesting.... but I am not going to dig holes in my walls.

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Re:Is it one way or bidirectional? by supervico · 2013-06-21 07:04 · Score: 1

mod this up -- most interesting question in this whole thread

Re:Wat? by Nutria · 2013-06-20 08:22 · Score: 2

who would ever want this?!

Each and every spy and law enforcement agency larger than the county sheriff.

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I would expect by azav · 2013-06-20 08:24 · Score: 1

I would expect that these walls are rather one way with the transmission of sound, as in a one way mirror.

But, by alternating the side of the holes that are covered with plastic wrap, we could then make these walls truly two way with regards to sound transmission.

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Why with the meatball? by interkin3tic · 2013-06-20 08:31 · Score: 1

Slashdot has research from Japan flagged for some reason? I haven't noticed any other countries represented in flag form, for instance, the south korean flag too.

A team of Japanese and South Korean researchers has devised a means of making solid walls virtually transparent to sound.

Re:Why with the meatball? by dido · 2013-06-20 14:54 · Score: 1

It's strange that articles here only seem to have one of those icons with them nowadays. I could remember a time when there were three or sometimes even four icons relevant to a story when you opened it up (e.g. Google and Microsoft icons for stories involving both companies). Wonder why that stopped.

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New Recitals by kodomo · 2013-06-20 08:36 · Score: 1

Now you will have to pay extra to SEE the band.

So if you pit a hole in a wall.... by scorp1us · 2013-06-20 08:40 · Score: 1, Insightful

The sound goes through. Oh this is such a break through! No one ever thought of this! No one would ever think that a hole might alter the optical properties as well? Well it does! You can see through a wall with holes in it! It's amazing!

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Re:So if you pit a hole in a wall.... by Zynder · 2013-06-20 10:43 · Score: 1

The way you say that, you sound British. If so, you've got the usage wrong for Americans. A pit is a pit, not a hole. A pit has a bottom, a hole doesn't even though we often say things like a hole in the ground. That's a colloquial thing though. This is a scientific article so in the scientific sense, a pit has a bottom and a hole goes all the way through. You put a pit in the wall like a golf ball has and stretch plastic over it. What they have reinvented is a wall covered in musical drums.

And the downsides not mentioned. by queazocotal · 2013-06-20 08:40 · Score: 5, Interesting

The 'walls' were thin sheets of metal - yes - this is an interesting breakthrough, but will not help much for thick walls.
The effect is strongly frequency dependant, and relies on tuned membranes.
It will not work for signals such as voice.

Or at least - it will not work as well as it would for tuned signals.
It is unclear if you can get a useful effect with a large number (say 50) of tuned membranes covering the voice band.
You can perhaps also do interesting novel things with tuning, if this is possible.
You can have a 'transparent' wall - that mutes certain tones - for example if you want to notch out a train whistle that goes past every day.

Audio prisms are another application that springs to mind.

Re:And the downsides not mentioned. by jbengt · 2013-06-20 12:07 · Score: 1

The effect is strongly frequency dependant, and relies on tuned membranes

I was wondering about that. TFA left that out. If so, then it would more useful as a sort of filter, more than a device to reduce reverberation or increase transmission in general.

Transparency to wireless would be useful by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-20 08:44 · Score: 1

Actually, I'd be much more interested in how to make solid walls transparent to the frequencies used in 802.11b/g/n/ac transmission, particularly the higher frequencies that are more easily stopped by walls.

For example, if I drove a very long nail through a wall, could it serve as an antenna that would help propagate wireless from one side to the other?

Re:Transparency to wireless would be useful by qwijibo · 2013-06-20 09:06 · Score: 1

If the nail is made of copper, insulated, run through the wall and connected to the external antenna port on the wireless device?

in additional news... by NikeHerc · 2013-06-20 08:48 · Score: 2

Researchers have devised a means of making sound transmit easily through rigid surfaces, including walls. The process relies on creating large holes in a wall. Researchers have discovered the large holes do not require that either side need be covered with plastic wrap, thus making the process more environmentally friendly.

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...I assure you both points. by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2013-06-20 09:00 · Score: 1

A pinhole and plastic wrap also make it transparent to visual frequencies!

-100: Ten thousand people did that joke already.

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Old technology by charles_at_work · 2013-06-20 09:02 · Score: 1

Apartment complexes had this technology in their walls (and ceilings and floors) years ago.

This is news? by bdwoolman · 2013-06-20 09:02 · Score: 2

Every motel I ever checked into has had these walls installed.

--
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy

Big deal... by trailerparkcassanova · 2013-06-20 09:05 · Score: 1

My apartment has had walls that transmit sound since it was built in the 1950s.

Alternate Name by sabernet · 2013-06-20 09:09 · Score: 1

How to mess with/prank the blind.

Remove the wall by Russ1642 · 2013-06-20 09:14 · Score: 1

So to get sound to go through walls what you do is remove a bunch of pieces of the wall. This is essentially a window, but instead of having it all in one chunk you spread out the area. BRILLIANT!!!

Dynamic positional audio? by Intropy · 2013-06-20 09:15 · Score: 1

If you can quickly cycle the pinholes open and closed then you could put a speaker on the other side and dynamically control where the sound apparently originates.

Forgive me if this is obvious by EmagGeek · 2013-06-20 09:36 · Score: 2

But, wouldn't it just be easier to put speakers in the other room and get on with your life?

Well, I guess maybe if you were in the room next door, and wanted to hear what was going on without the occupants knowing, you could use this method.

I get it now. Perfect for NSA spying ops.

More info... by slew · 2013-06-20 10:59 · Score: 3, Interesting

Some complementary work done at UT-austin

Instead of a membrane matching the impedence of a "meta-material" made by punching regularly spaces in a wall (kind of like a meta-material drum), the UT-austin work describe holes made with a "meta-material" approach. Basically a hole with some transverse tubes cut a regular intervals to create resonances that change the effective impedance parameters allowing pretty much lossless transmission through the hole (kind of like a meta-material horn).

Re:Wall replacement by hoboroadie · 2013-06-20 12:11 · Score: 1

In my experience, the sound attenuates as you plug the holes. I prefer 90 minute mud.
It is truly amazing how sound blasts through a single, tiny hole.

--
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.

Not solid... by Roogna · 2013-06-20 12:44 · Score: 1

So if you take a solid surface... and make it not solid, then things of appropriate size can pass through the holes? ...
Is this obvious science week or something?

"It is indeed astonishing," said physicist Oliver by JimtownKelly · 2013-06-20 15:50 · Score: 1

Like transducers haven't been used in the history of mankind. Like ever. Acoustics is what acoustics is, dumbass.

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-- Jimtown Kelly

A wall with holes in it... by RealGene · 2013-06-21 00:16 · Score: 1

..is, by definition, no longer 'solid'.

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Mission: To provide products that consume time and energy as entertainingly as permitted by the laws of thermodynamics.

Why did this make headlines? by droidfreak36 · 2013-06-21 04:33 · Score: 1

Breaking news! If you put holes in a wall and poorly cover them, sound can pass through! We also have discovered that punching holes in a boat and patching them with paper allows water to leak in. -____-

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Pinholes and Plastic Wrap Make Solid Walls "Transparent" To Sound

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