But now Bob Wills apparently had the beginnings of a real answer. A device that would use the principle of interference to cancel out sound waves, leaving behind only heat.
It should have been fascinating to Partch, but somehow he couldn't make himself get interested in it.
"The really big problem is the power requirement," Wills was saying. "We've got to use a lot of energy to cancel out big sound waves, but we've got several possible answers in mind and we're working on all of them."
He caressed the crackle-finish box fondly.
"The basic gimmick works fine, though. Yesterday I took it down to a static test stand over in building 90 and had them turn on a pretty fair-sized steering rocket for one of the big moon-ships. Reduced the noise-level by about 25 per cent, it did. Of course, I still needed my plugs."
Joseph nodded approvingly and stared vacantly into the maze of transistors and tubes.
"I've built it to work on ordinary 60 cycle house current," Wills told him. "In case you should want to demonstrate it to anybody."
Partch became brusque. He liked Bob, but he had work to do.
"Yes, I probably shall, Bob. I tell you what, why don't you just leave it here in my office and I'll look it over later, hm?"
"Okay, Mr. Partch."