Hacker News with Generative AI: Acoustics

The scientific “unit” we call the decibel (lcamtuf.substack.com)
I don’t have many pet peeves. That said, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get over the sheer madness of the scientific “unit” we call the decibel (dB).

Science, Acoustics

611 points by Ariarule 2 days ago | 479 comments

Fine-tuned acoustic waves can knock drones out of the sky (economist.com)
AS CHILDREN everywhere are delighted to learn in science class, sound can shatter glass. Might it also be possible, then, to use acoustic waves to disrupt the electromechanical sensors that drones require to fly?

Drones, Technology, Acoustics, Science

18 points by m1guelpf 13 days ago | 3 comments

Tuning Timbre Spectrum Scale (engr.wisc.edu)
Introducing a dissonant octave--almost any interval can be made consonant or dissonant by proper choice of timbre.

Music, Timbre, Acoustics, Sound Design

39 points by Tomte 18 days ago | 4 comments

Passing planes and other whoosh sounds (windytan.com)
I always assumed that the recognisable 'whoosh' sound a plane makes when passing overhead simply comes from the famous Doppler effect. But when you listen closely, this explanation doesn't make complete sense.

Sound, Physics, Acoustics

207 points by zdw 37 days ago | 56 comments

An unused nuclear power plant became home to a world-class acoustics lab (theverge.com)
These scientists have taken extreme measures to get away from noise.

Science, Nuclear Power, Acoustics

64 points by Tomte 45 days ago | 14 comments

Levitating Bugs with Sound Could Transform Scientific Photography (petapixel.com)
Scientists used precisely controlled soundwaves to suspend insect specimens, capturing detailed photographs from multiple angles without damaging the specimens.

Science, Photography, Insects, Acoustics

50 points by PaulHoule 45 days ago | 10 comments

DIY Acoustic Camera using miniDSP UMA-16 (2021) (navat.substack.com)
Acoustic cameras are used for locating sources of sounds. You can find online quite a few projects and products of acoustic cameras. However, they are all either complex or expensive (or both). So, I decided to build a simpler acoustic camera. And here’s how.

DIY Projects, Acoustics, Sound Engineering

28 points by da768 59 days ago | 2 comments

Hearing the Shape of a Drum (wikipedia.org)
To hear the shape of a drum is to infer information about the shape of the drumhead from the sound it makes, i.e., from the list of overtones, via the use of mathematical theory.

Mathematics, Physics, Acoustics

5 points by julkali 65 days ago | 0 comments

Sound that can bend itself through space, reaching only your ear in a crowd (theconversation.com)
What if you could listen to music or a podcast without headphones or earbuds and without disturbing anyone around you? Or have a private conversation in public without other people hearing you?

Sound Technology, Acoustics, Privacy, Communication

49 points by amichail 66 days ago | 15 comments

Czech scientists study trees' ability to absorb traffic noise (radio.cz)
Trees do not only improve air quality by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They can also significantly reduce noise levels by absorbing and refracting sound waves. Scientists from Brno are currently investigating how trees could be used as sound barriers against traffic noise.

Environmental Science, Noise Pollution, Urban Planning, Acoustics

27 points by mooreds 71 days ago | 1 comments

Guiding Electricity with Sound (phys.org)
A recent study published in Science Advances uncovers a way of transporting electricity through air by ultrasonic waves.

Physics, Science, Acoustics, Electricity

18 points by gummy23 106 days ago | 3 comments

Soft Metalens for Broadband Ultrasonic Focusing Through Aberration Layers (nature.com)
Aberration layers (AL) often present significant energy transmission barriers in microwave engineering, electromagnetic waves, and medical ultrasound.

Science, Materials Science, Acoustics, Ultrasound, Optics

16 points by bookofjoe 139 days ago | 2 comments

The Color of Noise (2014) (caseymuratori.com)
Everyone knows what “white noise” is, at least intuitively. People say “white noise” to refer to the static on an analog radio or the sound of ocean waves breaking on the beach. But have you ever wondered why the term “white noise” is common, yet you never hear noise referred to as being any other color, like “red noise” or “green noise”?

Sound, Acoustics, Terminology, Audio

80 points by ekzhang 173 days ago | 12 comments

Tunable ultrasound propagation in microscale metamaterials (news.mit.edu)
A new study coauthored by Portela; Rachel Sun, Jet Lem, and Yun Kai of the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE); and Washington DeLima of the U.S. Department of Energy Kansas City National Security Campus presents a design framework for controlling ultrasound wave propagation in microscopic acoustic metamaterials.

Acoustics, Metamaterials, Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Engineering

32 points by XzetaU8 181 days ago | 6 comments

Rodents remotely move matter using sound to enhance their sense of smell: study (buffalo.edu)
Scientists have debated the purpose of the ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) produced by rodents since the discovery of these sounds in the 1950s.

Science, Animal Behavior, Acoustics, Research

49 points by peutetre 221 days ago | 8 comments

Scientists found a way to make sound travel in only one direction (zmescience.com)

Science, Acoustics, Physics

77 points by Brajeshwar 222 days ago | 18 comments

Physicists generated sound waves that travel in one direction only (sciencealert.com)
Imagine three people huddled in a circle so when one speaks, only one other hears. Scientists have created a device that works like that, ensuring sound waves ripple in one direction only.

Physics, Sound Waves, Acoustics

58 points by mavci 224 days ago | 3 comments

How does David Geffen Hall sound? (nytimes.com)
The newly renovated David Geffen Hall has beechwood panels along the walls, embellished to help reduce the edge of higher frequencies.

Music, Architecture, Acoustics

11 points by Thevet 227 days ago | 1 comments

Ultra-thin sound-suppressing silk fabric works like noise-cancelling headphones (cbc.ca)

Materials Science, Acoustics, Fashion, Noise Cancellation

9 points by colinprince 265 days ago | 1 comments

Ask HN: Is active music cancelation possible? (ycombinator.com)

Audio, Technology, Acoustics, Music

10 points by solardev 301 days ago | 15 comments

Moving objects precisely with sound (epfl.ch)

Acoustics, Physics, Engineering

101 points by geox 331 days ago | 15 comments

Sonoluminescence (wikipedia.org)