FYFD

Tag: infrasound

  • Infrasound Fire Suppression Goes Commercial

    Infrasound Fire Suppression Goes Commercial

    Sprinklers have long been the go-to fire protection for commercial properties and some residences. Dousing a fire in water not only puts out the flames but cools the surroundings and helps prevent reignition. But it requires complicated infrastructure and can damage buildings and their contents. Back in 2015, students were experimenting with an alternative fire extinguisher that used sound below the range of human hearing; now a company is pitching a version of that technology for replacing sprinklers.

    As described by Ars Technica, this infrasound system can detect and put out a small kitchen fire in under a minute. But fire fighting experts warn that there’s a big difference between a fire small enough for a fire extinguisher to handle and the kinds of fires sprinklers put out. With lives at stake, the burden of proof is significant for Sonic Fire Tech and any other company that wants to get their infrasound “sprinkler” system cleared for use in buildings. (Image credit: I. Azevedo; via Ars Technica)

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  • Alligators Water Dancing

    Alligators Water Dancing

    Amorous alligators call to mates with a behavior known as water dancing. Their audible bellows are accompanied by infrasonic sound–vibrations below the 20 Hz limit of human hearing. These vibrations from their lungs excite Faraday waves in the water near the alligator’s back and make the surface explode in a dance of jets and atomized droplets. I’ve seen similar results in other instances of vibration, but this may be the only example of this I’ve seen in the wild. Researchers studying the phenomenon noted that the frequency of sound the alligators emit corresponds to a wavelength equal to the spacing of the raised scales, or scutes, on the alligators’ backs. They hypothesize that the shape of the scutes helps males create the display.  (Image credit: N. Marven, source; research credit: P. Moriarty and R. Holt; h/t to io9)

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