chipdipmcgillicuddy t1_j2dn3k0 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 2:03 PM

Reply to comment by frzx1 in Eli5 How exactly does Noise cancellation work? That too in such small airbuds by Professional-Ad3441

I thought about it for a few minutes longer and realized this can work because your wearing something right next to your eardrum. Before I was thinking how could sound be cancelled, if I yell at a concert when the band is playing my yell is still there but it’s drowned out, but I guess because the headphones are right next to your ears that must be a big part of why it works.

Techial t1_j2drnu0 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 2:41 PM

Well, sort of. You also have massive "noise-cancellation" systems built on the same principle when big artists perform live concerts. They literally have subwoofers between the stage and the actual sound-producing subwoofers pointing out to the crowd, and these noise cancelling subwoofers play the same bass sounds (albeit a bit delayed to account for travel) but polarity switched. Imagine sound as a wave going up and down, now if you play the exact same wave but flipped, the waves will cancel out eachother.