Acoustics, as a research area, is the scientific study of generation, propagation, interaction, and detection of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids across audible, infrasonic, and ultrasonic frequency ranges. It encompasses theoretical and experimental analysis of wave equations, sound fields, impedance, reflection, refraction, scattering, absorption, and nonlinear effects in complex media and structures. Subfields include physical acoustics, architectural acoustics, aeroacoustics, underwater and ocean acoustics, ultrasonics, vibroacoustics, and acoustical signal processing. Research in acoustics underpins technologies for imaging, nondestructive evaluation, noise control, transducer design, acoustic metamaterials, and advanced measurement techniques for characterizing materials, devices, and environments using sound.
While many plans for quantum computers transmit data using the particles of light known as photons, researchers from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) are turning to sound.
Quantum Physics
Sep 18, 2025
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89
Mice often communicate in ultrasound, which is so high-pitched that it's beyond human hearing. Because these sounds don't travel very far, it was thought that they were only used for private, close-up conversations. New research ...
The ability to detect vocal sounds, and the more specialized skill of recognizing calls from one's own species, is supported by evolutionarily ancient brain mechanisms, according to a new study from the ELTE Department of ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 4, 2025
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173
When people think of nature sounds, they likely imagine birds singing at dawn or frogs calling after rain. But beneath the surface of our rivers is a whole soundscape that most of us have never even thought to listen to—until ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2025
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56
The notion of a phased array was initially articulated by Nobel Prize recipient K. F. Braun. Phased arrays have subsequently evolved into a formidable mechanism for wave manipulation. This assertion holds particularly true ...
Farmers might be able to get help tending and harvesting crops using a new sensing technology from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI). Researchers have invented a tool called SonicBoom that can find crops ...
Biotechnology
Aug 14, 2025
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334
Large surface waves produced by powerboats are a mainstay for recreational watersports. A new study from the University of Minnesota shows that beneath the surface, factors such as propeller thrust and other types of waves ...
Ecology
Jul 29, 2025
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Within the last decade or two, the vast majority of Hawaiian field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) have lost the ability to create their mating song due to a mutation affecting the male crickets' wings. This mutation, referred ...
Increased collaboration between zoos and sound researchers could open new frontiers in bioacoustics, according to a new paper.
Ecology
Jul 16, 2025
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21
A world-first study reveals an acoustic interaction between plants and insects. In the study, the team focused on female moths and found that they make a critical decision—where to lay their eggs—based on sounds emitted by ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 15, 2025
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