Manmade soundproofing tends to be porous and bulky or very limited in the range of frequencies it can handle. In contrast, moths are natural absorbers of ultrasound, having evolved to Keep reading
Tag: sound waves
Seismic Events Reveal Ocean Temperatures
Decades ago, researchers proposed sending sound waves through the ocean to measure its temperature. Although the technique worked, it ran into noise pollution issues, but now it’s back, using naturally-occurring 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
When Walls Chirp
If you’ve ever clapped near a wall with a corrugated surface, you may have noticed some strange echoes. Surfaces like these can cause a chirping sound to observers. The reason, Keep reading
Hearing in Space
Everyone knows that, in space, no one can hear you scream. Sound is a wave that requires a medium to travel through, and if space is empty, there’s no medium Keep reading
How Loud Can Sound Get?
Sound and acoustics often intersect with fluid dynamics. Most of the sounds we experience are pressure waves traveling through air. In this video, Joe of It’s Okay To Be Smart takes Keep reading
Extinguishing Fires With Sound
Engineering students from George Mason University have built a fire extinguisher that uses sound to put out flames. Since sound waves are mechanical pressure waves, they can move the air Keep reading
Sound and Harmonics
The vibrations we perceive as sound, whether in air, water, or any other fluid, are tiny pressure waves emanating from a source, transmitting like ripples across a pond, and finally Keep reading
The Sound of Helium
Gases of different density are good for more than just physics demonstrations. They also affect the transmission of sound waves, thereby altering our perception of pitch. As fun as sulfur Keep reading