We all like stereos, or that great iPod dock that has been a trusty friend for many years. Some might even have sound systems capable of serious decibel levels but we can assure you that nothing we (or you) will ever have is as powerful, or as cool, as the system the European Space Agency has built.
The agency created a 32 meter wide, 50 meter high behemoth sound system called the Large European Acoustic Facility, or LEAF, that is capable of simulating the noise level that you will or would hear during a rocket launch.
To be more exact, that’s 154 decibels of crisp, noisy, death. Death, because “no human being could survive hearing it (LEAF) at maximum output.”
The level of sound is achieved by shooting nitrogen through the system’s horns, which is supposedly the cause of the lethal auditory output. It isn’t just for show either, the LEAF is used to stress-test satellites before they’re attached to a rocket and blasted into space. If they can’t survive in the LEAF’s test chamber, odds are that space will make short work of them.