Although this helps keep the weight down while maintaining strength, it does a poor job at blocking noise within the aircraft. That's why researchers from North Carolina State University and MIT have developed a membrane that helps the panels to do so.

The membrane is made from rubber that's just a quarter of a millimeter thick, and that's adhered to one side of a piece of the honeycomb paneling. Once in place, it acts sort of like the skin on a drum, causing incoming sound waves to bounce back off of it instead proceeding through into the cabin.

It's particularly good at blocking low-frequency sounds, such as those made by aircraft engines. In lab tests, a panel covered with the membrane reportedly blocked 100 to 1,000 times more sound energy than one without.