Photo: On the right, an artificial atom generates sound waves consisting of ripples on the surface of a solid. The sound, known as a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is picked up on the left by a “microphone” composed of interlaced metal fingers. According to theory, the sound consists of a stream of quantum [...]
Take a moment, close your eyes, and listen. What do you hear? From my office this morning, I hear traffic from the street, birds chirping, the rhythmic tapping of a co-worker’s keyboard, and if I listen closely, a distant wind chime swaying in the breeze. Its peaceful, and I feel relaxed. However, it’s [...]
“Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue.” -Plato It is widely recognized that early lateral reflections are significant in producing quality acoustics in a concert hall setting. The widening of the sound image to increase the perceived closeness of sound has been a technique [...]
The simple sound of life all around us might be the key to making “plugging in” a thing of the past. A new energy-harvesting prototype has been found to produce energy, through the use of noise, in amounts great enough to charge mobile phones. Yet another discovery of the ways sound engineering and acoustical [...]
It’s unlikely that you’ve poured over coffee bean acoustics as you sip a latte, but for Preston S. Wilson, underwater acoustics associate professor at The University of Texas, exploring the sounds emitted by coffee beans roasting was a matter of sound engineering, great curiosity, and the eventual discovery of an increasingly sustainable solution [...]
Disruptive noise is no stranger to city life, some would even consider it part of the draw, describing the city as having a ‘life all its own’. While this may be true, and the ambiance – of sorts – is attractive to many, there is a significant down side to exposure to too [...]
A single strike of lightning can contain 1,500 megajoules of energy. That converts to six months’ worth of power for a 100-watt lightbulb. It’s enough shock to be a leading cause of weather-related death in the US.LIGHTNING…The odds of becoming a victim in the U.S. in any one year is 1 in 700,000. The odds [...]
Invisible to the human eye; profoundly impacting to architectural appeal. What is this invisible presence altering the human experience in design and architecture? Acoustics “Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. The application [...]
The CENSEO team recently completed an orchestra pit lift project at the University of Hawaii Kennedy Theatre. . Our team of engineers redesigned the pit lift using a new, more efficient system that solved several functionality problems with the existing 50-year-old hydraulic lift. After fully understanding the needs of the UH Kennedy Theatre project [...]
Vocal learning has been a subject of research in the fields of acoustics and social science for many years. Over time, findings have proven positive in some types of birds, bats, and cetaceans including whales and dolphins. Research by avian scientists has identified specific neural pathways in the brains of songbirds, allowing for a [...]
