Anaechoic Chamber at Orfield Labs
When it comes to soundproof chambers, the quietest place on earth is the Anechoic chamber, at Orfield Labs. Quoting from this article from the Atlas OBscura:
A typical quiet bedroom at night measures about 30 decibels; this chamber measures at -9 decibels. It is made of 3.3-foot-thick fiberglass acoustic wedges, double walls of insulated steel and foot-thick concrete.
The chamber is in fact in the Guinnes book of records for being 99.99% sound absorbent.
Yes, staying in the room for more than an hour will drive you crazy. One reporter did manage to resist for something along the lines of 45 minutes. By far the best description I could find of the place is given by Mr. Orfield himself:
When it’s quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear. You’ll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound.
Below is an image of the lab, and its record-winning certificate (courtesy of Daily Mail Online):
Visiting the Chamber
The chamber is used by companies to for product development and tests. Harley-Davidson is one such company. The Orfield Labs website says that the chamber can be rented out, however being left alone in it is not allowed:
The chamber is a test chamber for product, not people, and we can not allow anyone in the chamber alone for any significant amount of time without supervision. Orfield Laboratories costs are $100.00 per person with a $200.00 minimum, Monday through Friday by reservation.
If your interest is in challenging the "45 minute record", there is NO Guinness World Record for time spent in the chamber, this has been incorrectly reported in many press stories around the world.
If you would like to schedule a visit please contact me via email at [email protected] . All payments must be made 2 weeks in advance of your visit.
