A Thin Layer of Silence for You!

Imagine a thin layer of curtain providing a noise-isolated space for you. Or imagine the opposite: a thin curtain playing music. The mind-blowing idea of having an active acoustic material opens endless possibilities in developing sound control systems. A team of engineers at MIT developed a technology that can make these imaginative hopes become reality.

The magic lies in a material property called piezoelectricity. Piezoelectric materials produce electrical voltage when they are deformed. Conversely, one can apply electrical voltage to induce pressure inside the material, causing it to expand or shrink. The MIT team developed a thin strand of piezoelectric fiber that can be threaded in an ordinary silk to make a sound-active fabric. The fabric can be programmed to emit sound when specific AC voltage is applied. The fabric can also attenuate the sound by applied voltage that moves the fabric to obstruct the vibration of the air. One of the most practical characteristics of this piezoelectric fabric is that the noise reduction mechanism does not depend on the size of the room. These features demonstrate the potential to create an active-noise-cancelling curtain.

The flexibility and compactness of this innovation encourages further explorations into creative sound control systems like sound-insulating partitions or compact audio devices. This study echoes the advent of flexible electronics like foldable screens or wearable devices that expanded the scope of electrical engineering. As sound is an elementary sensory experience that pervades daily life, the creation of an acoustically active fabric represents a milestone with widespread application.

Managing Correspondent: Seunghyun (Elizabeth) Park

Press Article: The Future of Silence Is Here : MIT’s Noise-Canceling Silk (SciTechDaily) 

Original Journal Articles: Single Layer Silk and Cotton Woven Fabric for Acoustic Emission and Active Sound Suppression (Advanced Materials)

Image Credit: pixabay/Mimzy