How does noise-canceling technology reduce unwanted sounds?

Noise-canceling technology works by listening to sounds and then making opposite sounds so they cancel each other out, like when two people whisper at the same time and you can't hear either one clearly.

Imagine you're playing hide-and-seek in your room. When someone calls "Ready or not, here I come!" it's hard to hide because you hear the sound. But if another person whispered the exact opposite at the same time, like saying "Not ready, stay hidden!", the two sounds might cancel each other out, and you could keep hiding!

Noise-canceling headphones work a bit like that. They have microphones that listen to the noise around you, like the hum of an airplane engine or the chatter in a busy room. Then they use speakers inside your ears to make opposite sounds, which cancel out the noisy ones.

It feels like magic because it makes everything so quiet, just like when you’re wearing noise-canceling headphones on a plane and suddenly can hear yourself think. But really, it’s just two sounds playing a game of opposites, one loud, one soft, helping you hear only what you want to hear!