With spring heading into summer, many parts of the United States enjoy a nighttime chorus of frogs and toads. These amphibians are singing to attract mates and delineate territory. Some, Keep reading
Tag: acoustics
The Eerie Singing of the Golden Gate Bridge
Recent changes to the Golden Gate Bridge’s guardrails have created a new soundscape in the Bay Area. Under high winds, the bridge gives off an eerie, otherworldly wail that can Keep reading
Singing in the MRI
We rarely consider just how complex the process is when we speak or sing. Sound waves produced in our larynx are shifted and amplified by the geometry of our throats, Keep reading
Listening to a Bubble’s Pop
Sound is an important aspect of many flows, from the scream of a rocket engine to the hum of electrical wires vibrating in the wind. Critically, those sounds carry important Keep reading
The Cricket’s Chirp
Growing up, my summer nights often featured a chorus of crickets and bull frogs. Even now, the sound of those chirps reminds me of home. So how do crickets make Keep reading
Wild Gray Seals Clap Back
Here’s a paper that cries out for fluid dynamical/acoustical follow-up: wild gray seals have been observed signaling underwater by clapping their forefins. As you can hear in the video, the Keep reading
Creating Star Wars-Like Volumetric Displays
Despite their ubiquity in science fiction, volumetric displays — three-dimensional displays visible from any angle — have been tough to create in real life. But a team from the University Keep reading
Avoiding Shear Thickening
Many substances – like the cornstarch and water mixture above – exhibit a property called shear-thickening. In these fluids, deforming them quickly causes the viscosity to increase dramatically. That shear-thickening occurs when particles Keep reading
Seeing Sound
It’s not always easy to imagine how waves travel, but with this demonstration, you can see sound waves and how they reflect and defract. The set-up uses schlieren optics that show light Keep reading
Seeing with Sound
Sound carries rich information about the environment through which it’s traveled. And while many sighted people never take the time to notice this, using sound to build a mental picture Keep reading