acoustics

Scientific Reports, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-57523-0 Determining rock damage strength with acoustic emission monitoring technique in terms of hurst exponent

NASA and Lockheed Martin's experimental X-59 aircraft has broken the sound barrier, achieving a speed of Mach 1.1. The feat could set the stage for "quiet" supersonic flight.

For many coffee lovers, making espresso seems to require two essential ingredients: very hot water and high pressure. But researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia have challenged that assumption by creating espresso-strength coffee using room-temperature water and ultrasonic sound waves. The new technique could reduce the energy needed to make […] The post Forget boili…

GNSS-A positioning, which combines satellite positioning of a sea-surface platform with underwater acoustic ranging, is essential for monitoring seafloor tectonic movements and improving global reference frames. However, the ocean's sound speed varies with depth and time in complex ways, creating errors that have long limited positioning accuracy. Researchers have now developed a layered sound sp…

A mysterious low-frequency sound known as The Hum has been reported around the world for decades, leaving researchers searching for its source. Imagine lying in bed late at night and hearing a faint engine-like drone that seems to come from somewhere outside. You check the windows, listen for traffic, and search for a nearby machine. [...]

A new study is opening a rare acoustic window into the hidden world of underwater predators. Using machine learning and underwater recordings, researchers developed a system that can detect and classify shell-crushing feeding events by whitespotted eagle rays as they prey on clams, oysters and other shellfish. The technology delivers near-deep learning accuracy with far less computing power, pavi…

Once a tunnel is constructed, it can be difficult to locate from the surface. Traditionally, researchers have used sensing technologies sent from above such as seismic surveys, ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistivity, but these methods can be limited, especially in complex subsurface environments.

Fingal's Cave is a hollow inside the Scottish island of Staffa that is characterized by massive, interlocking hexagonal columns of volcanic rock and astonishing acoustics.

Can a video game teach the physics of sound? 🎧 Explore this Minecraft lesson plan where students build virtual rooms, calculate reverberation time (RT60), and hear how materials like carpet or concrete change the acoustics in real-time! #Acoustics #STEM #Minecraft The post Building Soundscapes: Using Minecraft to Teach the Physics of Reverb first appeared on Acoustics.org .

This paper presents a computational acoustic analysis of the 10:5:4 modular ratio derived from architectural specifications in the Book of Ezekiel (Chapters 40-48). By subjecting these dimensions to finite element method (FEM) and ray-tracing simulation, this study identifies a statistically significant local maximum (3.2\sigma performance gap) in acoustic quality factors. The findings suggest th…

Recent MA graduate Annika Herlant presented earlier this month at the 190th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, hosted in Philadelphia. She presented a poster: "English speakers learn to use F1 as a place cue in perception of Arabic post-velar consonants" The post Annika Herlant at Acoustical Society of America 190 appeared first on Department of Linguistics .

I am reading Max Tegmark's book Our Mathematical Universe. On page 172, Tegmark wrote the following: "Two waves can pass through each other unaffected, like the circular waves in the water tank in Figure 7.6; at any time, their effects simply add together. In some places, we see peaks of the... Read more

that can direct sound into a tiny, private listening area, allowing someone to hear music clearly without disturbing people nearby. The research could one day lead to headphone-free private audio in public places, offices, cars, museums, or even at home. The study was recently published in IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics. Normally, sound spreads outward in […] The post This futuristic speaker co…

Nature Electronics, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41928-026-01649-6 An acoustic patch for gastric surgery

The view may sell the first ticket, but the sound sells the second. How frequently the audience returns to a venue to hear beautiful music will be determined mainly by the acoustic experience. Come learn how natural rock formations helped shape an outdoor amphitheater. The post Orienting an Outdoor Amphitheater Surrounded by Natural Rock Formations first appeared on Acoustics.org .

Why do polymer oboe reeds feel different? Our study makes the reed’s fast motion visible, showing that polymer and cane reeds can vibrate in different ways. The post Why Do Polymer Oboe Reeds Feel Different? first appeared on Acoustics.org .

In many types of rooms, sound reflecting off multiple walls muddies conversation, making it harder to understand. So, to control how sound travels in a room, researchers developed a patterns wall to improve the listening experience of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. They first conducted acoustic simulations to study how different surface textures influenced speech clarity. Then they designe…

Textured walls improve speech clarity, making an easier listening experience for all. The post Wall Design Centers Experience of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals #ASA190 first appeared on Acoustics.org .

Imagine a siren emitting a high-pitched tone for one second and then a lower-pitched tone for the next second. (This is what I think is called pitch modulation.) The frequencies of these tones shift ...