Imagine a wave of water coming towards you in a wave pool.
Ignore anything to do with things like currents under the water, etc.
If you slap the water as the other wave is coming your way, and make a wave the exact same size, shape, etc, but going the opposite way to the wave that's about to hit you, one stops the other.
Sound in air is much the same, it's just waves that you can't see. The headphones or earbuds with active noise cancellation, simply (or really, not so simply) detect other sounds, and play a sound that is the exact opposite, or close enough.
The waves hit each other, and the sound of both goes away!
Azi9Intentions t1_j2cqk73 wrote
Reply to Eli5 How exactly does Noise cancellation work? That too in such small airbuds by Professional-Ad3441
Imagine a wave of water coming towards you in a wave pool.
Ignore anything to do with things like currents under the water, etc.
If you slap the water as the other wave is coming your way, and make a wave the exact same size, shape, etc, but going the opposite way to the wave that's about to hit you, one stops the other.
Sound in air is much the same, it's just waves that you can't see. The headphones or earbuds with active noise cancellation, simply (or really, not so simply) detect other sounds, and play a sound that is the exact opposite, or close enough.
The waves hit each other, and the sound of both goes away!