This mathematical formula can cancel out all sound
Posted by staff / May 27, 2011
Ever wonder how those magical noise-cancelling headphones are able to help you maintain your sanity on a long flight with a screaming baby? You’ve got math to thank for that. (Bet you never thought you’d be thankful for math, huh?)
Noise-cancelling headphones operate on and are powered by one mathematical formula. It’s called the Fourier Transform, and it works like this:
Sounds are waves. The Fourier Transform analyzes a given wave, and produces the equivalent of its audio opposite. When that’s played, the two more or less cancel out, muffling your audio environs.
It’s like two people running to towards each other, slamming together, and knocking each other out. Cool.
Full story at Gizmodo.
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