AudioScope
Can Two Sounds Make Silence?
Hear the original tone, then its inverted copy. Listen for what happens when they play together.
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Why the tones cancel
The second signal contains the same samples with their signs reversed. Match the levels and timing, and the two samples add to zero at each instant. In a room, reflections and distance change the levels and timing, so cancellation varies with where you stand.
Read the listening sequence
- 0:02.8 — A plays a steady 440 Hz tone.
- 0:08.2 — B plays the same tone with its polarity reversed.
- 0:12.5 — A and B play together and sum to silence.
- 0:22 — Hear A, B, then the silent sum in quick succession.