For the 2014 Formula 1 time, there has been many changes to the design of the racing cars. A side personal property of heartbreaking to additional fuel efficient cars has been a radical change in the engine sound. There have been complaints not far off from the quietness of the new engines, both from fans at the races and those watching at home. Now, Mercedes are proposing to try a noisier exhaust system during the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix 1. Although force this solve the trouble?
Persons complaining not far off from the new car sound have focussed on the decibel count. The sports governing body FIA have published statistics to fair that the sound pressure amount near an F1 car has dropped by 11 decibels from 145 to 134 dB 2. Even so, the 2014 engines are still incredibly piercing, producing sound levels likely to crop bother in the ear if you search out also close3. Period the new cars are undoubtedly quieter, there is additional to how we perceive sound than noise. If the trouble was simply noise, then fans could just follow the advice from F1 legend Niki Lauda,
If persons dont be keen on the new noise, take the earplugs not in the tube persons at home, turn the tome up. 4.
Last time engines produced a lot of power in the frequency array 500 - 2500 Hz, a array where our investigation is particularly sensitive because it includes the frequencies where the announce in our ear canals resonate generally strongly. Those nostalgic for the from the past V8 engines recall the screaming sound. The engines resembled a scream because the noise was both loud and the frequencies produced by the engine overlapped with the array where humans scream. This is why fans seminar not far off from having a visceral occurrence in the past. The sound resembled a distress beckon and therefore evoked a strong emotional response in the crowd. As Ed Gorman, former F1 Correspondent for The Period wrote,
The sheer loud, full-throated profligacy of the V8s was enough to send a shudder through my vertebrae every time I heard them close up. 5
The new 2014 engines crop sound not far off from an octave lower because the rpm of the car is lower and the switch from eight to six cylinders means the engine fires less a lot per rotation. This is why the new cars sound additional be keen on a souped-up superheros car and dont appear to scream. I did the comparison shown below of the frequency response of the 2013 and 2014 cars compared to a male scream. It shows the similarity between the from the past cars and the scream at higher frequencies.
Is the megaphone up for grabs to solve the noise trouble? By flaring the exhaust outwards, the noise of the engine should search out louder. This shouldnt bring down the power of the engine, because contrary to widespread perception, sound is a weak phenomenon and acoustic waves dont requirement a lot of energy. What is being planned isnt a new technology, one of the reasons a trumpet has a bell is to allow the musical instrument to crop louder notes. Although if the megaphone only achieves an become more intense in noise, without recreating the screaming frequencies, force the complainants be satisfied?
The complaints not far off from the sound of F1 must be focussing the minds of those preparing cars for the new Formula E Championship, the first all-electric auto racing run launching in September 2014. 6 In the pit lane, the cars force have to crop a sound to alert mechanics and officials. This force be be keen on the alert systems that are installed on electronic and mix cars worn on the lane. What would be the unsurpassed sound for this? The noise of an in-house combustion engine is almost certainly unsurpassed because persons force immediately recognize the sound 7. Once the electronic racing cars are not in on the track, travelling at high speed, tyre and smooth noise force combine with the gripe of the electronic drive chain to reach 80 decibels, not far off from as loud as a piercing restaurant. If approximately fans think F1 is currently also quiet, how are they up for grabs to react to this?
