Up Close: Blue Room

The science behind absorbing radio waves in a Radio Anechoic Chamber dates back to World War II when it first helped planes absorb or scatter radar signals. Now the technology is used by the European Space Agency among others.

  • Words + Photography: Alastair Philip Wiper

This is the Radio Anechoic Chamber at Denmark’s Technical University. The blue spikes are filled with carbon powder that stop radio waves bouncing around the room, so that satellite antennas can be tested in an environment similar to space.

There are lots of these chambers around the world, and apparently they all used to be black. Then someone decided it was a bit depressing to work in a black room all day, so now all the rooms are blue. The professor in charge of the chamber has worked there for 12 years, and couldn’t really understand why I thought it was so cool. I am glad he decided to wear a blue shirt.

Alastair Philip Wiper is an industrial and architectural photographer based in Copenhagen

Article taken from

Issue 01
Articles

Further Reading

View All

Maarad: A Tale of Three Cities

An abandoned modernist fairground in Lebanon came to epitomise both the worst excesses of war and hopes of renewal afterwards.

The Essentials: Mark Beaumont

Last September the long-distance cyclist broke the record for cycling around the world. Here he gives an inventory of the kit that sustained him through his most challenging expedition.

Furnace Elegy

Photographer Viktor Mácha fell in love with the ‘dark mysterious world’ of the steel industry when he was fourteen – a world that is rapidly disappearing. Here he recounts some of the stories behind his extraordinary images.

Valentina Tereshkova: Factory Worker to Outer Space

At the age of 26, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to have flown in space. Avaunt considers her meteoric rise from textile factory worker to hero of the Soviet Union.

What a $100,000 Canoe Looks Like

‘I love that it takes so long to make canoes,’ declares Trent Preszler. The artisan boat maker took up his craft after his father died, using the tools he inherited to create a canoe over the course of fourteen months.

Under the Sea

A breathtaking new restaurant combines stylishly sustainable seafood dining with apocalyptic architectural ambition.
Browse by Category