What's the Loudest Sound in the Universe?
The human tolerance for sound is, on a galactic level, puny. Volcano eruptions, jackhammer-intensive construction work,…
Can a Loud Noise Really Bring Down a Data Center?
This week, a Nasdaq Nordic stock exchange data center in Finland was taken down by its fire suppression system. But…
The Last Jedi Quietly Killed Another Star Wars Tradition You Might Have Missed
The Last Jedi takes aim at some of the most deeply-held establishments and tenets of the Star Wars saga, laying the…
Microchip Breakthrough Could Help Us Build a New Kind of Computer
On Monday, a team of scientists in Australia announced an exciting breakthrough: For the first time, researchers were…
Chrome Will Soon Mute Autoplay Videos With Sound—Here's Why You Should Be Worried
Google has surveyed the advertising landscape that it dominates and determined that it’s time for a change. Beginning…
The Uncanny Sound Illusion That Creates Suspense in Christopher Nolan's Movies
Ever notice how Christopher Nolan’s movies (Interstellar, Inception, The Prestige) feel like an anxiety attack? Well,…
Hackers Can Now Use Sound Waves to Take Control of Your Smartphone
There’s an old mantra in the security world that anything can be hacked. And the more complex our devices become, the…
Listen to Stephen Fry and Watchmen's Dave Gibbons Discuss the Art of Sound on Comic Books
Vworp. Kapow. Biff, bang, pow! The onomatopoeic words we’ve seen splayed out across comic pages over the years are some…
How to Make Your Own Sonic Tractor Beam at Home
We’ve all been there: building a scale model of the Death Star in our basement and thinking, “I just wish this had a…
Listen to Tom Cruise Scream Aimlessly in The Mummy Trailer Without Its Music or Sound Effects
When the first trailer for The Mummy dropped a few weeks ago, it was, like most action movie trailers, a cacophony of…
Simple Software Turns any 3D-Printed Model Into a Playable Instrument
You no longer have to be a Stradivarius, a Gibson, or even a Steinway to make your own musical instruments. Anyone with…
How to Get The Best Sound Quality From Your Laptop
Whether you’re gaming, watching movies, or streaming Spotify, there are likely to be times when your laptop’s default…
What It Sounds Like on Mars
None of us will probably ever make it to the red planet but if you want to get a feel for what Mars would sound like…
Obsessed Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles To Improve Sound
To an audiophile, there’s no such thing as ‘too expensive’ if it means an upgrade to their setup could improve their…
What Is Music and Why Is It So Special?
Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad sits down to talk about music—its purpose, its function, its meaning—with filmmaker Mac Premo in…
Watch the Painstaking Art of Making Movie Sound Effects
I’m not sure what I love most about foley artists: is it their wildly creative ways to recreate sound? The totally…
These Glass Speakers Work Like Magic
Turtle Beach’s Hypersound Glass speakers use a sheet of transparent glass to drive sound in a highly focused beam…
It's Nuts How Much Work Went Into Making the Sounds for Uncharted 4
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the closing chapter of Nathan Drake’s treasure hunting adventures. The game is made by…
Watch How Dead Silent an Owl Flies Compared to Other Birds
When a pigeon flies, you can hear it sloppily slap its wings as it makes its way through the air. When a peregrine…
Find Out How Loud Your New Neighborhood Will Be Before You Move In
When Brendan Farrell was shopping for a house in Los Angeles, he noticed how real estate sites readily listed a…