Artificial noise: In Empa’s «AuraLab,« a test subject assesses her perception of rail travel noise. Image: Empa
Artificial noise: In Empa's «AuraLab,« a test subject assesses her perception of rail travel noise. Image: Empa - Kurt Heutschi, a senior scientist in Empa's Acoustics / Noise Control lab, explains what noise does and why we perceive sound so differently. Mr. Heutschi, can noise actually be measured? Noise is the term used to describe unwanted sound. In this context, unwanted means that it depends on a person's judgment whether a sound signal is noise or not. A sound measuring instrument cannot make this classification, i.e. noise is not measurable. We perceive a buzz saw as annoying, but a rushing stream as pleasant. Why is that? When evaluating sounds, humans tend to perceive natural sounds as less annoying or even as pleasant and enriching.
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