Sound System Simulates the Roar of a Rocket Launch

retroworks writes "Located in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and part of ESA's ESTEDC Test Center, is the Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF), a sound amplification system 'powerful enough to kill a human being.' LEAF is capable of generating more than 154 decibels, the sound equivalent to standing next to several jets taking off. It is used to blast satellites and spacecraft with sound. Large horns are housed in a sound-proofed room that is 16.4meters tall. One wall of horns stands 11 m wide by 9 m deep and 16.4 m high. LEAF requires all the doors to be closed, operating in steel-reinforced concrete walls to contain the noise. The walls are coated with an epoxy resin to reflect noise, producing a uniform sound field within the chamber."

Comments

the real question is

[Anonymous Coward]

can it go to 11?

Re:the real question is

[Ellis D. Tripp]

Sounds like this one might go up to 12 or more...and is large enough that it won't be trod on by a dwarf.

Re:the real question is

[binarylarry]

Since it's sound proof (and hopefully sealed air tight) lets just lock them inside and call it a day.

Re:the real question is

[Demonoid-Penguin]

can it go to 11?

(sigh) bloody Slashdot posters.... If you bothered to read the referenced article you'd see it starts at 11. [mutter, mutter].

Re:the real question is

[RivenAleem]

And can it blow the cloths off girls?

Questions not addressed in the summary

[pushing-robot]

1. Can it play Van Halen?

2. How can I have one installed in my living room?

Re:Questions not addressed in the summary

[pushing-robot]

They don't call it Death Metal for nothing, you know.

Re:Questions not addressed in the summary

[ShanghaiBill]

Given that the volume can kill a person ...

Can it really? They say it is as loud as several jets taking off. I have been on aircraft carriers where the flight crews were in close proximity to jets taking off, and none of them died as a result of that. According to this chart noise around 150dB can rupture an eardrum in someone wearing no hearing protection. Ruptured eardrums are rarely fatal.

Re: Questions not addressed in the summary

[jd2112]

Death metal? This thing has Disaster Area written all over it. They must be scheduled for a gig on Earth soon!

Re: Questions not addressed in the summary

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't die from hearing it, you die from feeling it. So twice as powerful as what it takes to rupture ear drums is in the range of rupturing capillaries in your whole body. Internal bleeding in the brain is a quick killer.

Re: Questions not addressed in the summary

[snakeplissken]

This thing has Disaster Area written all over it. They must be scheduled for a gig on Earth soon!

the sound stage will be on earth, the band of course, will be on the moon!

Re: Questions not addressed in the summary

[dwater]

Having experienced the Notting Hill Carnivan, I can totally believe this...the sound systems they have on the floats are so loud I found it quite difficult to even breath and started to make me feel sick. They're powered by quite big generators on the floats themselves....quite nuts.

The floats/etc were a bit boring, imo. My wife and I didn't stay long.

I find that they can reach 140db: http://www.theinformationdaily...

It's only a matter of time...

[narcc]

...before this is stolen and installed in a '94 honda civic.

One of the first customers

[rossdee]

Hotblack Desiato and his band Disaster Area

Re:One of the first customers

[fahrbot-bot]

Hotblack Desiato and his band Disaster Area

With *everything* painted black, of course.

154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[mpoulton]

Car audio competitors exceed 154dB all the time. That's not even close to the sound pressure levels achieved in world-class competitions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... That's 28.5dB louder than this testing facility, a factor of 707 times more power.

Re:154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[Sparohok]

Car audio competitors exceed 154db:
* In a very small enclosed space (not a 16 meter room large enough to test spacecraft)
* With an acoustic design to focus sound on the microphone (not intended to create a uniform soundfield)
* For just a few seconds before the speaker voice coils melt
* At a very small range of bass frequencies
* Strictly without nobody inside the car to avoid certain injury - or perhaps even death, we have no way to know

154db may not be unusual but what the LEAF facility is doing certainly is unusual.

Martin

Re:154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[Sparohok]

"because we where[sic] peaking at 163db"

No actually you weren't.

Just because the meter says it doesn't mean its true.

Martin

Re:154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[mpoulton]

That's all certainly true. The facility is very impressive. Not because of the 154dB number, but because of all the other engineering factors involved. There's no doubt that the total amount of power involved is way higher than any audio system, and that it would be very unhealthy to stand in the box. It's just a bit odd and misleading to tout the SPL number as somehow being really impressive, when the chav blasting his ridiculous stereo at 3AM may be in the same dB ballpark.

Re:154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[mpoulton]

Car audio competitors exceed 154dB all the time. That's not even close to the sound pressure levels achieved in world-class competitions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

That's 28.5dB louder than this testing facility, a factor of 707 times more power.

Decibels relative to what? Maybe not ambient...

Sound pressure level is measured relative to 1dB (duh), which is typically defined as 20uPa.

Re:154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[gishzida]

I once had the opportunity to witness a night time test firing of an Atlas rocket engine set [three engines] at the Rocketdyne Santa Susanna Field Test Lab. We were put in an observation area at a distance of 3/4 of a mile away from the test stand. The test was about thirty seconds long. The sound pressure from the engines compressed the diaphragm enough to make breathing difficult or impossible.

Imagine trying to take a breath and you find you are unable to do so all the while you are hearing an impossibly loud roaring and the flashing brightness of the engines bathing the hills with yellow-white light.

It was the nearest I ever got to an actual ride into space... it was impressive and I found myself wanting "to go on that ride again" but never had the opportunity.

Re:154dB is not fatal, or unusual

[Trogre]

You found breathing difficult from 3/4 mile away?

That is impressive. The sound pressure 1m from the rocket must have been incredible, and well in excess of 154dBA I would guess!

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[Anonymous Coward]

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Missed headline opportunity

[wonkey_monkey]

Sound system simulates strident sonics of soaring space ships

powerful enough to kill a human?? mythbusters

[Joe_Dragon]

powerful enough to kill a human?? sounds like the mythbusters need to test this!!

Re:powerful enough to kill a human?? mythbusters

[lagomorpha2]

They should get Kari Byron to test it to see if they're so loud, they blow women's clothes off!

Re:Shows how inefficient rockets are.

[50000BTU_barbecue]

You'd be surprised at how little energy is needed for sound to be spectacular.

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/T...

Whether or not your speakers are efficient at transforming electrical power into acoustic power is another story. If you can lift your speakers by hand, your efficiency is maybe 1% if you're lucky.

move to Venus

[troon]

The maximum SPL on Earth is a trifling 193dB: the point at which the negative peak of the compression wave is a total vacuum.

Move to Venus with its 90atm ambient "air" pressure, and you could get up to 233dB!

Seriously, if you live near me and like thumping bass in your car, move there now! Ignore all that propaganda about high temperatures and acid rain... 233dB!!!