Simulating an earthquake in the lab is a monumental task. But this one has been accomplished at the University of Buffalo by engineers using two massive shake tables to shake, rattle, and roll a large residential building. The results which will help future homeowners can be viewed in this video and associated article.

Vehicle performance is typically thought of in terms of horsepower. However, without the ability to control that power, all the horses in the world won't keep it on the road. Do you know how an automotive suspension system works? If not, this article will explain the application of shock absorbers and dampers.

When noise from a computer room ventilation fan at the University of Western Australia became an annoyance, engineers were called upon to quiet the problem. The unique solution, now used as a demonstration of active noise control (ANC) combined active and passive noise control techniques for a significant reduction in noise.

If you remember the "has been" rock group Spinal Tap, then you probably like your music loud, but at the peril of happy home life. Now audiophiles and home theater contractors can employ affordable soundproofing glue in room construction projects that will dampen noise between drywall, dissipating the sound energy.

Mechanical friction can not only cause wear and tear, but also create unwanted noise. This is true both in large and small machinery, including electronic controls in stereo tuners, camera zoom lenses, and automotive cockpit controls. A specialty dampening grease can reduce the effects of vibration and noise, producing a smooth feel.

There's no magic involved in predicting the health of rotating machinery. The noise and vibration signature from a happy machine is much different than machinery on the verge of failure. That is the key to a piezoelectric accelerometer sensor that can foretell the condition of machinery to warn operators before expensive downtime is required.

Scientists and researchers have always required a stable working environment when using high-precision instruments like scanning probe microscopes and interferometers. But stable lab space may be getting harder to find. The solution can be found using traditional air tables, but a negative stiffness isolator system may halt vibration better.

Modern home theater systems bring movies to life with surround sound, but now the antithesis of vibration isolation can be achieved using a new bass boost seat mounting system. While unacceptable in a work environment, the system pairs an 1100 W amplifier with a special shaker device, producing a ground rumble that you must feel to believe.

Phantom Caller

Do you deal with unwanted noise and vibration issues on a daily basis? Consider this: as you're just about to doze off in that engaging board meeting, you feel the cell phone in your pocket begin to vibrate. You flip open the phone, but nobody is there. In fact there was no call at all. In a growing line of tech diseases, computers gave us carpel tunnel syndrome, now cellular phones are giving us phantom vibration syndrome.

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