science

One Square Inch of Silence

One Square Inch of Silence is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand One Square Inch of Silence rather than just read about it. In short: One Square Inch of Silence is a noise control project symbolized by a small red stone symbolically placed in Hoh Rainforest at Olympic National Park in 2005 by author and sound recording specialist Gordon Hempton. The stone's location has been called "the quietest place in the United States".

Key takeaways

One Square Inch of Silence belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect One Square Inch of Silence to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of One Square Inch of Silence from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

One Square Inch of Silence is a noise control project symbolized by a small red stone symbolically placed in Hoh Rainforest at Olympic National Park in 2005 by author and sound recording specialist Gordon Hempton. The stone's location has been called "the quietest place in the United States". According to commercial pilot Philip Greenspun, some airlines have voluntarily rerouted flights to avoid inducing noise pollution at the square inch. Hempton has formed a foundation to prevent jet aircraft noise in Olympic National Park and other parks. Hempton's works, including One Square Inch of Silence, were covered in the 2010 documentary Soundtracker which debuted at the Sedona Film Festival.

References

Further reading Hempton, Gordon; Grossmann, John (2009). One Square Inch of Silence: One Man's Search for Natural Silence in a Noisy World. Free Press (Simon & Schuster). ISBN 978-1416559085. Man's quest to defend one square-inch of silence, KING-TV, May 16, 2011, archived from the original on December 17, 2014, retrieved December 15, 2014 Tippett, Krista (2012). On Being with Krista Tippett, "Gordon Hempton: Silence and the Presence of Everything."

External links Official website One Square Inch of Silence, from the documentary "Soundtracker" on YouTube

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with One Square Inch of Silence

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what One Square Inch of Silence claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to One Square Inch of Silence before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about One Square Inch of Silence ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of One Square Inch of Silence

In research: One Square Inch of Silence appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses One Square Inch of Silence in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: One Square Inch of Silence is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2005 establishments in Washington (state), 2005 in art, 2005 in the environment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for One Square Inch of Silence outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study One Square Inch of Silence in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what One Square Inch of Silence means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain One Square Inch of Silence out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is One Square Inch of Silence in simple terms?

Why does One Square Inch of Silence matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study One Square Inch of Silence?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on One Square Inch of Silence.