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Windows aren't asked to carry too heavy a burden - be translucent, open and close occasionally, and keep the weather out. So far, they generally fulfill their destiny, but if researchers have their way, windows will adhere to a new fate - one in which they prevent sound, but still allow air to flow through.

If you live in a city and are the kind of person that can't fall asleep unless all is quiet and you have a nice breeze circulating, a team from Mokpo National Maritime University and Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials has redesigned the window to fit those very needs. Obviously, a standard bedroom window isn't exactly soundproof - you can still hear the occasional siren, neighbors arguing, or cats vying for territory. However, keeping the window closed certainly muffles out some of the sound. If you can't afford an air conditioner, though, opening the window invites all of that sound in, forcing you to make the decision between temperature and noise. This new window design allows you to let in that cool breeze, but keep out the sound.

A bulk modulus determines how fast a sound travels through a material. A negative bulk modulus determines how quickly a sound passing through it is reduced. The team designed a resonance chamber that essentially became a negative bulk modulus for a range of frequencies. The chamber is composed of two parallel plates of acrylic plastic that are positioned in such a way where the resonating sound opposes the same sound's compression, which creates that negative bulk modulus. The sound is able to get through the sheets thanks to a small hole - about 50mm - drilled into each.

While the windows aren't conventionally open allowing for any ol' alien to waltz right in, the holes do allow for a reportedly decent amount of airflow. So, the sound and air travel through the holes and in between the acrylic sheets, the air escapes through the other side, but the sound bounces around until it's no more. Now if only the team could create a 50mm air conditioner.

Now read: How two artists managed to visualize sound using water and fire