Microsoft recently made a lot of noise over its new smartphones and tablets but it's also got something else to shout about after creating the quietest place on the planet – a record-breaking room that's almost as silent as the sound of air molecules colliding together.

The anechoic chamber, known as Building 87, is a state-of-the-art acoustic environment with sound absorption levels of 99-100% designed for testing audio equipment. This particular room has been measured at -20.6db.

That's a level of silence unheard of even by Arsenal fans. Microsoft posted on its blog a video about the chamber and the moment it was officially listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the quietest place on earth - shattering the previous most silent spot, Orfield laboratories which clocked in at -13db.

 

How quiet is Microsoft's Building 87?

Microsoft calls Building 87 the place where sound goes to die and to put its quietness in perspective, outside the vacuum of space the quietest noise known to man is the theoretical Brownian Motion, which is the noise created by colliding air molecules measured at -23db. Microsoft's chamber is just a few decibels louder. The human threshold of hearing is 0dB, where we cannot hear anything, calm breathing measures 10dB, rustling leaves 20dB and normal conversation 60dB.

Building 87 is so quiet you would be able to hear your own heart beat and, like other anechoic chambers, prolonged time spent inside would effect a person's balance as audio cues from your environment are taken away.