MIT engineers develop a speaker the thickness of a sheet of paper, and to the surprise of many, it sounds exceptional. We tell you all the curiosities.
A group of engineers from MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have managed to develop a loudspeaker the thickness of a sheet of paperand in a more efficient way than you might expect.
This technology could allow entire surfaces to produce soundand according to their engineers, they are energy efficient, and their production would be adapted to produce them on a large scale.
Normally, loudspeakers usually work by vibrating a membrane, which manipulates the air around it to produce sound waves, and for this use electric current and magnetic fields.
In recent years several scientists have succeeded in developing technologies that through the use of piezoelectric materials, they vibrate by the voltage received. This technology can be found especially in televisions or our phones.
But the use of it has a latent problem, and that is that if these are on a surface, their performance is quite diminished since they reduce their ability to vibrateand therefore to produce sound.
These MIT engineers have managed to change the formula a bit, transforming this surface into a grid of independent raised domes. For it sandwich a thin layer of piezoelectric material between two layers of polyethylene terephthalate plastic (We can find it in bottles, photographic films, textiles…).
The top layer of polyethylene terephthalate plastic has a series of holes through which protrude the raised domes of the piezoelectric surfacewhile the lower part is used to mount this last mentioned layer and allows you to offer a surface where to have the speaker.
The speaker created has a thickness of only 1.2 centimeters, and weighs only 2 grams (Amazing). The size of the piezoelectric domes is 15 micrometers high. In terms of sound data from it, measured at a distance of 30 centimeters, this speaker was able to produce up to 66 decibels of power, with an input of 25 volts at 1 Khzor 86 decibels at 10 Khz.
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The most remarkable thing, apart from the great power mentioned above, is that this product already is energy efficient, counting on a consumption of 100 milivation per square centimeter. Quite accomplished by these MIT engineers.
As Jinchi Hain, head of the study that has been in charge of creating this speaker, comments, these could be used in wallpapers for walls, cars or airplanesallowing you to have a fully expanded and enveloping sound.
Admittedly, this technology would have too many very interesting uses, as Jinchi has already told us. Imagine all the walls of a movie theater with this technology once it is improved… We will be attentive to how it progresses to tell you about it in the future.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism