Sound wave techniques are experimental and analytical methods that generate, manipulate, and detect acoustic waves to probe, image, or modify materials and systems. In research, they encompass ultrasound imaging, acoustic microscopy, non-destructive evaluation via bulk and surface acoustic waves, and acoustic spectroscopy for characterizing elastic, viscoelastic, or porous media. These techniques exploit frequency-dependent propagation, reflection, refraction, scattering, attenuation, and mode conversion of longitudinal and shear waves. They are implemented using piezoelectric transducers or laser-based sources and detectors, and are used to measure mechanical properties, detect defects, monitor processes, and study wave–matter interactions across solid, liquid, and gaseous environments.
In a new study, researchers show, for the first time, that photoacoustic microscopy can image stents through skin, potentially offering a safer, easier way to monitor these life-saving devices. Each year, around 2 million ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 26, 2025
0
63
A new AI tool that picks out bird and amphibian sounds in audio recordings could improve how ecologists monitor and study Canada's wildlife.
Ecology
Jun 30, 2025
0
24
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the most prevalent form of permanent hearing loss, affecting over 6% of the global population, according to the World Health Organization. It results from damage to sensory hair cells ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 24, 2025
0
47
A new tool that assesses the level of danger posed by tsunamis in real-time has been made operational on a global scale.
Earth Sciences
Jun 18, 2025
0
54
The wildest trampoline in the world swings sideways and "around corners." Yet, no one can jump on it, because it's not even a millimeter tall. Physicists from the University of Konstanz, the University of Copenhagen, and ...
Nanophysics
Jun 5, 2025
0
35
More than 400 underwater sites in the United States are potentially contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO)—weapons that did not explode upon deployment, which continues to pose a safety concern.
Environment
May 19, 2025
1
62
Imagine that doctors could precisely print miniature capsules capable of delivering cells needed for tissue repair exactly where they are needed inside a beating heart.
Bio & Medicine
May 8, 2025
0
60
By adding a sound-mediated way to control light to the toolkit of light-based chips, University of Twente researchers have pushed the boundaries of the technology. This opens up the possibility of making atomic clocks small ...
Optics & Photonics
May 1, 2025
0
197
A novel study has unveiled a technique that enhances stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases by combining magnetic guidance with localized ultrasound stimulation. This approach successfully navigates magnetically ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 30, 2025
0
56
In an advance in microsensor technology, researchers have unveiled an ultra-sensitive gas detection method using surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors enhanced by the physics of exceptional points (EPs). These EPs, phenomena ...
Nanophysics
Apr 30, 2025
0
35
