Michael Chacon, Madison Morrison, Andrew Palacio, and Leen Alfaoury – credit WILL KIRK JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Today’s good news comes from the Good News Network.
Students Invent Leaf Blower Silencer Attachment–Corporation Expects to Be Selling Them Soon
Engineering students at Johns Hopkins have created a silencer module for the campus leaf blowers, reducing the devices’ overall noise pollution by 37%. At the same time, they succeeded in almost completely eliminating the high-pitched whining that annoyed them the most.
The design is patent-pending, and Stanley Black & Decker, who sponsored the students, expects to sell them in two years.
It’s not uncommon for leaf blowers to be banned by homeowners associations or following apartment tenant protests—their endless, up-and-down caterwauling of various frequencies is the delight of no one, and worse, landscapers often use them in the early morning to avoid the heat of the day.
“The sound that comes out of this leaf blower is very complicated, and it contains a lot of different frequencies,” said team member Andrew Palacio. “A lot of different notes on a piano would be a good analogy.”
The Johns Hopkins campus currently uses battery-powered leaf blowers, which are already quieter than gasoline-powered ones. Since last September, Palacio and his team members Michael Chacon, Leen Alfaoury, and Madison Morrison have examined the devices in depth—how many sounds are there and what is causing them.
Overall, they have workshopped more than 40 versions of leaf blower silencers. Many of them worked but diminished the power of the air coming out. They eventually came up with an easy-to-secure suppressor that functions much like the ones fitted to firearms.
“Our product takes in a full blow of air and separates it,” Alfaoury told Johns Hopkins. “Some of that air comes out as it is, and part comes out shifted. The combination of these two air sections makes the blower less noisy.”
“It ultimately dampens the sound as it leaves, but it keeps all that force, which is the beauty of it,” adds Chacon.
It’s one thing to come up with trumps in a class project, but this invention isn’t designed to win them any science fairs, but rather for going on Home Depot or Lowe’s shelves.
“It’s not just some cool theoretical thing that will sit on a shelf and never be heard from again—this is ready to be mass manufactured,” said Nate Greene, senior product manager at Stanley Black & Decker, who graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2017 with an engineering degree. “This is a scarce and dramatic level of success.”
WATCH the story below from JH University Press…
The good news in this story is that a problem that is not Earth-shattering has been solved through hard work. Although leaf blower noise is a first world annoyance it is good to see it has been overcome. Today’s JohnKu talks about solving problems.
Solutions by John W. Howell © 2014
Its not world hunger,
But a problem worth solving . . .
Shows genius at work.
Fiction Favorites 
Nice. Can it be used on early risers who make noise before 9 am on weekends?
LikeLiked by 2 people
It may cause them not to do it anymore since others will not be disturbed. (which seems to be the whole point of those early blasts of blowers)
LikeLike
Brilliant work 👍
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree. Blower noise is one of my pet peeves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sure is intelligent work. 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree with you Tim. I just hate the sound of a leaf blower and my privileged neighbors seem to delight in early morning use.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love seeing kids put their educations to work in this way, and what’s more, realize a big achievement. Awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, Lori. It looks like the studies paid off. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We have a battery leaf blower that has whisper mode, not very evasive at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like that idea.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s cool! Sometimes they’re so loud. Cutting noise pollution is a good thing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think so too. The ones that really get me are the variable speed blowers. Hard to ignore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic news, John. Leaf blowers have already been banned from a neighboring town. I like that it was Hopkins students – both my husband and daughter went there.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Obviously Hopkins turns out some pretty smart folks. 😊
LikeLike
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
The landscapers on my street start at 7am, and this would be a game changer. Good for these kids!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think it would be, Lois. I agree on the “good on ya” wishes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely a problem worth solving! Hats off to the hard-working students.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Can you imagine how long we have had to put up with this annoyance? It is everywhere too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is terrific. It’s great to see the next generation solving problems. Keeping noise pollution down is also important. Congratulations to them!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree, Barbara. They deserve congratulations.
LikeLike
That’s pretty cool. It’s a problem worthy of solving and it sounds like they’ll get something out of it, too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think they will. A super achievement that comes with a royalty package.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This IS terrific!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is, Annette.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll be first in line to purchase when this goes on the market!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope there will be a professional version.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great invention they came up with! Keep summer afternoons peaceful.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wouldn’t it be wonderful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is awesome! I have a couple neighbors that could use this invention. lol 🌺😂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I do too. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. 😁
LikeLike
Indeed, this is great news! Good for the young people, who show us what perseverance can accomplish; good for everybody who hates having to listen to these noisy landscaping devices!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree with all of that, Debbie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is fantastic! Wish they could do the same for lawnmowers.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree, Teri. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It makes me so happy when our youth uses their ingenuity to create something beautiful or useful. Bravo to them and to the teachers who inspired them. Thank you, John, for sharing this sign of hope! 🌞
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is a big testament to their teachers for sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our dog Rollo would love that invention. He hates the sound of leaf blowers. He hates the vacuum cleaner too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Probably hurts his ears. Does mine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Anything that helps our quality of life is a win. I hope someone can come up with a solution for chainsaws, which I find far more annoying.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree on chainsaws, Pete. That would be great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is one very cool idea!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is. I can’t wait
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smart students! A most noticeable sound at 6 am on a Saturday or at the start of an online workshop.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yup. I hope they are very successful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice to see and hear about young people intentionally making a difference
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is, Jim. Thanks.
LikeLike
We need more of this Boss. Great young HUMAN minds. I’m all for it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So true, Pilgrim.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love that students invented this.
I love that they aren’t ripped off by a big company. Many inventors are.
Okay, now that they’ve solved that noise issue, perhaps they can come up with one that makes air conditioners(domestic and industrial) more quiet!
The JohnKu is right on.
Thank you, John!
Umm, do you allow leaf blowers in your hood?
💨🍃 💨🍂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes we have leaf blowers and they drive me nuts. Air Conditioners are the same madness. Poor upkeep is the reason they are so loud. 😊X
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊X 😊X
LikeLiked by 1 person
😁X 😁X
LikeLiked by 1 person
😅𝔛 😅𝔛
LikeLiked by 1 person
😅X 😅X 😅X 😅X
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂𝐗 😂𝐗 😂𝐗 😂𝐗
LikeLike
🤣X 🤣X 🤣X 🤣X
LikeLiked by 1 person
Where do I go from here?
We win! 💋
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes we do. 💋
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s amazing! Good for them. And the timing of reading this is funny to me because when the gardeners were at the neighbors’ on Friday, I literally thought, “Man, I wish there was a way to make that quieter.” I can’t be certain it was the leaf blowers I was hearing. It could have been hedge trimmers at the time, but in any case, I get it! This is so cool.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree about it being amazing. I hate leaf blowers with a passion. Can’t wait for a commercial model. Thanks, Betsy. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
It will be fun to read your review when you get one! Undoubtedly these new leaf blowers won’t start out perfect but will improve with future models. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think so too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi John, leaf blowers are very noisy and irritating. I need this silencer. The gardener nearly drives me mad every Friday.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know what you mean. Our neighbor has two show up at 7:15 on Monday morning for a half hour of noise.
LikeLike
Oh my, what a way to start the week
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true.
LikeLike
Great story, John. Reminds me, I need a new pair of ear protection.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You should get that. Steve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What?
LikeLike
Ha ha ha. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great idea! When will it be delivered to the Blue Chicken country? Thank you, dear John!🍻🍤🍤🍤
LikeLiked by 2 people
Who knows? Thanks, Maria. 🥂🍰
LikeLiked by 1 person