Acoustic phenomena encompass the generation, propagation, interaction, and detection of mechanical waves in elastic media such as gases, liquids, and solids, typically within the audible frequency range for humans but also including infrasonic and ultrasonic regimes. They are governed by continuum mechanics and wave equations that describe pressure, particle velocity, and displacement fields, along with boundary conditions at interfaces. Key characteristics include frequency-dependent dispersion, attenuation via viscous and thermal losses, reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference, and nonlinearity at high amplitudes. Acoustic phenomena underpin techniques such as acoustic spectroscopy, imaging, and material characterization, and are critically influenced by medium properties like density, compressibility, and anisotropy.
The unofficial soundtrack of every basketball, squash or hard-court tennis match is the constant high-pitched squeak or shriek of the players' shoes. But can this squeak be designed out of them while retaining the grip?
General Physics
Mar 6, 2026
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Porpoises are entirely dependent on their hearing for survival. They navigate, hunt, and communicate by emitting rapid click sounds and listening to the returning echoes. However, with increasingly noisy oceans, it is getting ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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Deep into the Panamanian night, the forest hums with sound. Chirping insects form a steady backdrop, rain softly trickles from leaves. Somewhere above a stream, frogs call into the darkness. But I am not there to see this ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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As the sun rises over the Kalahari Desert, meerkat groups emerge from their burrows and gather closely, turning their bodies toward the warmth of the early light. These quiet morning moments are more than a way to warm up; ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 30, 2026
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No ears, no problem. The tobacco hornworm caterpillar, a common garden pest, can actually detect airborne sound via microscopic hairs on its body, according to a team of faculty and graduate students at Binghamton University. ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 28, 2026
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For many nocturnal moths, hearing sound waves is a matter of survival in the night sky. Their ability to detect ultrasonic calls emitted by bats determines whether they escape or become prey. This predator-prey relationship ...
Ecology
Dec 2, 2025
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Along the coast, waves break with a familiar sound. The gentle swash of the surf on the seashore can lull us to sleep, while the pounding of storm surge warns us to seek shelter.
Earth Sciences
Sep 2, 2025
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High-frequency sounds produced by snapping shrimp, particularly at night, can serve as an effective indicator of coral reef resilience, according to research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
Plants & Animals
Jul 24, 2025
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85
In the darkness of old church attics, surprisingly romantic scenes take place as male greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis), the largest native bat species in Europe, compete for the attention of females using complex ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 23, 2025
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In a study published in Science Advances, researchers from Technical University of Denmark and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid demonstrate a new device called an acoustic rainbow emitter (ARE) that takes in broadband white-noise ...
