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.
McGill University researchers have identified "universal" vocal patterns across hundreds of bird species and found that many of the same patterns also appear in human song and speech from cultures around the world. The patterns ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 29, 2026
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A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)-led team has developed an improved model for predicting solar events that incorporates activity on the far side of the sun. The team studied near-simultaneous maps of the whole solar ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 13, 2026
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A study has found that young chimpanzees develop distinct population-specific vocal patterns as they mature (ontogeny), challenging the long-held assumption that their calls are inflexible and determined solely by genetics. ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2026
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The massive January 2022 eruption of Hunga volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga took the world by surprise.
Earth Sciences
Sep 3, 2026
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Along the sandy banks of northern India's Chambal River, crocodile-like gharials glide silently through the water—but if a gharial spots a stranger, the quiet may be punctuated by a series of explosive pops.
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2026
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Biologists, zoologists and psychologists have been trying to trace the origins of human language for centuries. One well-known theory, known as the social brain hypothesis, suggests that increasingly complex social lives ...
Long before dark sunspots appear on the sun's surface, a new active region—where powerful solar eruptions can originate—begins showing subtle signs of its formation. Now, researchers say a new artificial intelligence model ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 14, 2026
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Space and rockets have been big news of late, from the successful Artemis 2 mission in April to the recent listing of SpaceX on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2026
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Everyone's perception of time is unique. It is a subjective experience shaped by factors such as age, emotions, memory and environmental contexts. And it may also be influenced by background noise, as scientists have demonstrated ...
When a bright fireball streaked across the Alaska sky last spring, the usual tools scientists rely on to track such events—cameras and satellites—did not provide a detailed picture. But the meteoroid left behind something ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 30, 2026
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