What's inside of IBM's quietest room in the world?

Inside the center, there are 6 soundproofed underground rooms to completely remove all sound from sound waves, physical vibrations to external electromagnetic radiation.

Explore IBM's quietest room in the world

If you want to do a scientific experiment that separates each atom from the molecule, you need professional equipment and, above all, a maximum microscope. However, that glasses will become useless when the surroundings are full of chaos with many sounds that vibrate the lens.

The world's quietest room is IBM's nanotechnology research room.

However, don't worry too much because the way the city center of Zurich (Switzerland) has electron scanning-type microscopes is in IBM's Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center with no trace of dirt, no one. the sound from outside, protected by electromagnetic shield, anti-vibration and especially very cool .

Special construction of each room

Inside the center, there are 6 soundproofed underground rooms to completely remove all sound from sound waves, physical vibrations to external electromagnetic radiation. Each such room has its own function. The one is equipped with Raman microscope for molecular research; one uses an optical microscope but uses an electron beam instead of observing light. Surrounding the rooms are thick nickel-iron alloy layers. So, in these rooms, don't expect to receive a call.

One of the world's most "quiet" research labs.

In addition, each room is made of two zones: the lobby - where the driver sits - and a main space along with the equipment to isolate the person from the experiments because humans just need to breathe enough to create. Sound volume and vibration are not small. Besides, each room has 2 separate floors. A suspended floor for scientists to travel and the remaining floor is not necessarily a floor but a huge concrete block with an air suspension to prevent large vibrations caused by trucks on the ground.

Scientists will work in a no-noise environment even the smallest.

And finally, the smart air conditioner does not make noise and the ability to blow out as little air as possible but still keeps the constant temperature constant (21 ° C). Meanwhile, there are tiny holes in hanging floors. The air that blows out will go through these holes and then go to the ceiling and be sucked out. Therefore, the room has almost no wind.

The "cold" to the incredible of these rooms

With such sophistication, the price must be "not the same " - about $ 90 million 'only' !! Of which, 30 million USD is spent on equipment. Worthy of such a huge amount of money, these rooms are known as 'the world's quietest'.

TEM electron microscope.

Extremely impressive anti-shake room, it is possible to reduce the sound vibration rate of incoming audio to less than 300nm / s at 1Hz level, and less than 10nm / s at 100Hz level. Although it is possible to isolate sound from the outside well, it cannot reduce the small sound of the engine. The sound level here is always below 30dB, the level that humans barely hear.

So why did IBM produce these buildings?

When you reduce vibration, sound . what affects the research process, you will get 2-3 times clearer images on the glass than in normal condition when not soundproofed. In addition, the researchers also want to see its performance when it is in " perfect " condition.

Raman microscope.

Back in history, in the 80s and 90s, IBM researchers had to operate in the basement of their headquarters because at that time there was no specialized nanotechnology facility , but only to the soundproofing room today. By the time Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer invented the " Tunnel Scanning Microscope" (STM) and worked day and night trying to prevent sound from roadside cars and then they won the Nobel Prize in physics. In 2011, IBM built a soundproofing headquarters in Zurich as we know it and took the names of these two inventors as well as applied their invention to research.