1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey, 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and this is another classic 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: episode from our previous host, Christian Sagar. White noise generators 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: are a boon to some of us who work in 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: open office environments and need to concentrate, and to some 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: of us who are just trying to get a good 7 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: night's sleep. In today's episode, we explain why crossover into 8 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: brain Stuff. Now, children, all are welcome. I'm Christian Sager. 9 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: But before we go into the light together, there seems 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: to be some confusion among you about what white noises 11 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: no It isn't when you have that snowy static on 12 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: your TV and ghosts fly out of the screen and 13 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: your daughter says they're here. No. White noise is something 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: we've all heard, some of us without even knowing it. 15 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: So let's define what it is exactly, how it's used 16 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: to mask other sounds, and what other colors exist on 17 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: the spectrum of sound. The simplest definition is that white 18 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: noise is the noise produced by combining all the different 19 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: frequencies of sound together at once. Each of these frequencies 20 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: are projected at an equal amount from low to high. 21 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: Because white noise has an equal energy distribution. Sound technicians 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: refer to its frequency spectrum as being completely flat. Some machines, 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: like fans, for instance, can create an approximation of white 24 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: noise by hitting all of these notes. That's why they're 25 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: so good at creating background noises that masks other sounds. 26 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: When there are sudden changes in noise, were often distracted 27 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: by the jarring clash, especially if we're sleeping. White noises 28 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: masking effect blocks out those changes, making it easier to 29 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: sleep through the night. That's one reason some people leave 30 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: a fan and air purifier, or even a television on 31 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night. This sound masking is 32 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: also used to block noise is in places like offices, hotels, 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: and libraries often broadcast over a p A system. If 34 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: you're trying to concentrate in a disturbing environment and there 35 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: aren't filters like these in place, you can even listen 36 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: to white noise on your headphones to mediate the conflicting noise. 37 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: How do you think we write these brain stuff episodes 38 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: when we all live together in this tiny little studio 39 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 1: prison and are never allowed to leave. There is peace 40 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: and serenity in white noise. It can also be used 41 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: as a kind of therapy for people with ringing ear, 42 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: also known as tenitis. I've got that because of its 43 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: equal high and low frequencies. For more info about how 44 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: ringing ear works, check out our previous episode on the topic. 45 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: And one other thing to note is that, because of 46 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: an effect called stochastic resonance, some people actually find that 47 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: white noise makes their tonitis worse. Now we call it 48 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: white noise because it's analogous to how white light works, 49 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: being made up of all the different frequencies of light. 50 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: But white noise isn't the only color on the sound spectrum. 51 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: Depending on the way signals are distributed over different frequencies 52 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:12,359 Speaker 1: that can be red, blue, violet, or gray. Pink noise, 53 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: for example, is very similar to white noise, but it's 54 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: higher frequencies have less intensity, making it louder and more 55 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: powerful on the low end. This makes it useful for 56 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: testing speakers and amplifiers. Like white noise, it's also used 57 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: to mask background sounds, and pink noise even occurs naturally 58 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: in heartbeat rhythms, meteorological data, and the radiation output of 59 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: astronomical pods. Today's episode was written by Christian and produced 60 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: by Tyler Playing. Brain Stuff is a production of I 61 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: Heart Radios How stuff Works. For more on this and 62 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: lots of other topics, visit our home planet, how stuff 63 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: Works dot com. And for more podcasts my heart radio, 64 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 65 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.