http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/acoustics/ Read all the latest research on acoustics, including novel sound systems, wearable musical instruments, and information on indoor acoustics. en-us Thu, 22 May 2008 16:05:01 EDT Thu, 22 May 2008 16:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/acoustics/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103722.htm An innovative laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer successfully restores patients' voices without radiotherapy or traditional surgery, which can permanently damage vocal quality. Wed, 07 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103722.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430154809.htm Hybrid cars are so quiet when operating only with their electric motors that they may pose a risk to the blind and some other pedestrians, research by a psychologist suggests. In some contexts, pedestrians may have only one second to audibly detect the location of approaching hybrid cars when the vehicles operate at very slow speeds. Thu, 01 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430154809.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417100013.htm A new hybrid hearing aid/cochlear implant device designed for patients who can benefit from both is being evaluated by otolaryngologists, as part of a national study. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417100013.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407153030.htm Fungi processing audio signals. E. Coli storing images. DNA acting as logic circuits. It's possible, and in some cases, it's already happened. In any event, performing digital signal processing using organic and chemical materials without electrical currents could be the wave of the future. Electrical engineers and computer science specialists describe experiments that perform signal processing with novel materials while stirring the engineering community towards "a possible not-so-electronic future" of digital signal processing. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407153030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401150755.htm Researchers have digitally reproduced music in a file nearly 1,000 times smaller than a regular mp3 file. The music, a 20-second clarinet solo, is encoded in less than a single kilobyte, and is made possible by two innovations: recreating in a computer both the real-world physics of a clarinet and the physics of a clarinet player. Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401150755.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080329083529.htm Last May, a widely reported study concluded that errant electronic noise from iPods can cause implantable cardiac pacemakers to malfunction. This just didn't sound right to the cardiac electrophysiologists at Children's Hospital Boston, who've seen hundreds of children, teens and young adults with pacemakers. Their own just-reported study finds no effect of digital music players on pacemaker function. Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080329083529.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310151949.htm Researchers are exploring the possibility of an extra dimension -- an imperceptibly small dimension, about one billionth of a nanometer. Researchers say: "This extra dimension would be curled up, in a state similar to that of the entire universe at the time of the Big Bang." Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310151949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304193035.htm Thick instruction manuals, a confusing tangle of cables and endless different standards -- trying to connect your flat screen, DVD recorder, MP3 player, surround system and computer to one another and get them to work is rather a complicated task. Help is on its way in the form of a project called WiMAC(at)home (Wireless Media and Control at Home). In this project, which is being financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), researchers are working on the wireless connection of electronic devices for broadcasting and entertainment in home networks. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304193035.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080206155346.htm Large-scale digital music distribution is bringing about a profound revolution in the way we 'consume' music. The market is still in flux, but it is very clear that the listening systems of the future will be significantly different to what we see today. With the advent of compressed music files (MP3) and easily accessible internet file exchange and download services, consumers are increasingly turning to personal mini-databases of music files (iPod, MP3 players) for their musical enjoyment. The CD market has already taken a hard knock and many predict its imminent demise. In the future, the boundaries between the stereo system, computer and the television will become more and more blurred, but how the various functions will combine, and what new ones will emerge, is still 'a work in progress'. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080206155346.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080206162044.htm Groundbreaking audio software could help music lovers jump to the hidden beats. Researchers have started a project for automatically extracting and classifying audio signals. Such metadata, as it is called, can be used to tag audio files so they can be more accurately picked up by search engines equipped to handle this kind of information. The software could be the next big step in boosting online music sales, as it could allow companies to exploit their archives more thoroughly and help consumers dig out tracks they might not have discovered otherwise. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080206162044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131161804.htm For one university physics professor, confirmation of a theory about the behavior of small molecules became music to his ears -- literally. He and colleagues have shown how a hydrogen molecule responds to laser pulses by using the changing musical chord created by the molecule's vibrational motion. Fri, 08 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131161804.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131161812.htm When the world's most powerful particle accelerator starts up later this year, exotic new particles may offer a glimpse of the existence and shapes of extra dimensions. String theory, which describes the fundamental particles of the universe as tiny vibrating strings of energy, suggests the existence of six or seven unseen spatial dimensions in addition to the time and three space dimensions that we normally see. Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131161812.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109104244.htm Contrary to earlier predictions, Duke University engineers have found that a three-dimensional sound cloak is possible, at least in theory. Such an acoustic veil would do for sound what the "invisibility cloak" previously demonstrated by the research team does for microwaves -- allowing sound waves to travel seamlessly around it and emerge on the other side without distortion. Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109104244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080107094925.htm Mathematicians have found that it is possible to gain full control of sound waves which could lead to improved medical scans, for technology such as ultrasound machines. They tested the numerical properties of a flat lens made out of 'meta-material' - a material that gains its properties from its structure rather than its composition. This material is thought to defy the laws of physics, allowing objects to appear exactly as they are rather than upside down as seen in a normal convex or concave lens. Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080107094925.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212201219.htm Millions of satellite television and radio users in North Africa and the Middle East can now see and hear the precise time of day, thanks to technical assistance and a custom-built time signal generator from NIST. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212201219.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212201407.htm Detection and treatment of tumors, diseased blood vessels and other soft-tissue conditions could be significantly improved, due to an innovative imaging system being developed that uses both light and sound. Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212201407.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071031135307.htm Wielding a single carbon nanotube 10,000 times smaller than a human hair, physicists have constructed the smallest radio yet. The nanotube vibrates at radio frequencies to receive the signal, then acts as both amplifier and demodulator. With only a battery and sensitive earphones, it can pick up AM or FM. With such a small receiver or transmitter, you could put a tracking collar on a bacterium. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071031135307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071017131851.htm The world's first working radio system that receives radio waves wirelessly and converts them to sound signals through a nano-sized detector made of carbon nanotubes has been developed. The 'carbon nanotube radio' device is thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The development marks an important step in the evolution of nano-electronics and could lead to the production of the world's smallest radio, the scientists say. Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071017131851.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925132327.htm Electrical engineers and computer scientists are working together on a computerized system that will make it easy for people who are not music experts (like the senior author's mom) to find the kind of music they want to listen to -- without knowing the names of artists or songs. You type in regular words like "high energy instrumental with piano," "funky guitar solos" or "upbeat music with female vocals," and get songs in return. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925132327.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070801122226.htm Using brain images of people listening to short symphonies by an obscure 18th-century composer, a research team has gained valuable insight into how the brain sorts out the chaotic world around it. Sun, 05 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070801122226.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070722120325.htm High powered sonar, like that used by U.S. Navy ships, did not harm test fish, including their hearing, in a controlled setting. The research team found that exposure to high intensity, low frequency sonar did not kill rainbow trout used for testing, nor did it damage the fishes' auditory systems, other than for a small and presumably temporary decline in hearing sensitivity. Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070722120325.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070723095336.htm The National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed an improved version of a real-time magnetic microscopy system that converts evidence of tampering on magnetic audio and video tapes -- erasing, overdubbing and other alterations -- into images with four times the resolution previously available. This system is much faster than conventional manual analysis and offers the additional benefit of reduced risk of contaminating the tapes with magnetic powder. Tue, 24 Jul 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070723095336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070628071601.htm An acoustic technology developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory eliminates the need for laborious and costly sampling of slurries in large containers. Fermentation-based industries, such as beer and pharmaceuticals, could benefit from the technology's noninvasive, continuous and objective "listening" technique in tracking microbial growth through the different process phases. The lab's patented technique is novel in its fusion of information extracted from both acoustic backscatter and transit measurements, including velocity, amplitude and frequency data. Thu, 05 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070628071601.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070622180242.htm Silence in music is not really silent. Research by a University of Arkansas music theorist, Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, reveals how context affects listeners' experience of silence in music. When a listener encounters silence in a musical work, Margulis wrote, "Impressions of the music that preceded the silence seep into the gap, as do expectations about what may follow." Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070622180242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070614084241.htm The long supposed connection between mind and music has been further demonstrated by an international collaboration of physicists. A statistical analysis reveals a remarkable similarity between the distributions produced by music compositions and brain activity. Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070614084241.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070604215016.htm What did dinosaurs hear? Probably a lot of low frequency sounds, like the heavy footsteps of another dinosaur, if University of Maryland professor Robert Dooling and his colleagues are right. What they likely couldn't hear were the high pitched sounds that birds make. Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070604215016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070603225026.htm Physicists developed small devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. The technology holds promise for changing waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars. Mon, 04 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070603225026.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070525205437.htm Research shows that a year after major food companies announced new advertising policies to combat childhood obesity, there have been no significant changes in television food advertisements that children view. Not only were unhealthy foods the most frequently advertised, but child-targeted commercials continued to employ the very production techniques and persuasive appeals that make it difficult for children to critically evaluate advertising. Sat, 26 May 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070525205437.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070524145005.htm The use of 12 tone intervals in the music of many human cultures is rooted in the physics of how our vocal anatomy produces speech, according to researchers. The particular notes used in music sound right to our ears because of the way our vocal apparatus makes the sounds used in all human languages. Fri, 25 May 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070524145005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516092210.htm UCLA molecular biologists have turned protein sequences into original compositions of classical music. Wed, 16 May 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516092210.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404162237.htm The theater at Epidaurus has been known for centuries as an acoustic marvel that allowed spectators to hear in the back row. Georgia Tech researchers have discovered that Epidaurus' limestone seats created a sophisticated acoustic filter that carried instruments and voices all the way to the back row. Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404162237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327144236.htm Modern hearing aids, though quite sophisticated, still do not faithfully reproduce sound as it is perceived by hearing people. New findings at the Weizmann Institute of Science shed light on a crucial mechanism -- the tectorial membrane -- for discerning different sound frequencies, and thus may have implications for the design of better hearing aids. Thu, 29 Mar 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327144236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070313144401.htm Although scientists know about basic voice production -- the two "vocal folds" in the larynx vibrate and pulsate airflow from the lungs -- the larynx is one of the body's least understood organs. Sound produced by vocal-fold vibration has been extensively researched, but the specifics of how airflow actually affects sound have not been shown using an animal model -- until now. Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070313144401.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312152003.htm A Northwestern University study suggests Mom was right when she insisted you continue music lessons even after it was clear that a professional music career was not in your future. The study is the first to provide concrete evidence that music training significantly enhances the brainstem's sensitivity to speech sounds, a finding with broad implications because it applies to sound encoding skills involved not only in music but also in language processing. Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312152003.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070302110931.htm Physicists at NIST have found that images of noise in clouds of ultracold atoms trapped by lasers reveal hidden structural patterns, including spacing between atoms and cloud size. Sat, 03 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070302110931.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070208173231.htm Researchers at Purdue University are getting close to eliminating those rattling and squeaking noises in your car's headrest and other components, major sources of consumer dissatisfaction that automakers would like to eliminate. Thu, 22 Feb 2007 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070208173231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070201093633.htm Can't hear? Turn up the white noise, says a team of Rutgers-Camden professors who have produced a mathematical explanation for the benefits of noise. Their findings could lead to major improvements in hearing aid technology. Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070201093633.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061227093651.htm Researchers at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory are developing a highly pinpointed sound beam that can detect buried land mines from a safe distance. The new beam will use sound to seek out land mines like a bat uses sonar to hunt its prey. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061227093651.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061204123334.htm Ray Charles was really good at snapping, says musical acoustician Kenneth Lindsay of Southern Oregon University in Ashland. Charles's snaps that open his famous song "Fever" with Natalie Cole are timed so well that he is never more than five milliseconds off the tight beat, a new study shows. Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061204123334.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128140624.htm A new type of stethoscope enables doctors to hear the sounds of the body in extremely loud situations, such as during the transportation of wounded soldiers in Blackhawk helicopters. Fri, 01 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128140624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128092949.htm Researchers from Delft University of Technology and FOM Foundation have successfully made and 'tuned' the world's smallest piano wire. The wires are made of carbon nanotubes that measure approximately 2 nanometers in diameter. The researchers have published an article on the subject this week in the scientific journal Nano Letters. Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128092949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116082913.htm By analyzing sound, Montana State University electrical engineering professor Rob Maher's research could lead to systems that detect snipers and provide environmental monitoring of wildlands. Thu, 16 Nov 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116082913.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061113170750.htm CSIRO has "built" a shirt which could fulfill the fantasy of anyone who has, in the privacy of their homes, jammed along with one of rock 'n roll's great lead guitarists. Led by engineer Dr Richard Helmer a team of researchers at CSIRO Textiles and Fibre Technology in Geelong has created a 'wearable instrument shirt' (WIS) which enables users to play an 'air guitar' simply by moving one arm to pick chords and the other to strum the imaginary instrument's strings. Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061113170750.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061110080758.htm Researchers at NIST, Intelligent Automation Inc. (Rockville, Md.), and the University of Missouri-Columbia have modified a NIST-designed microphone array to make an "audio telescope" that could help airports more efficiently avoid costly and hazardous bird-aircraft collisions by locating and identifying birds by their calls. Sat, 11 Nov 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061110080758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061016121617.htm Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound. The unprecedented, minimally invasive technique causes melanoma cells to emit noise, and could let oncologists spot early signs of metastases -- as few as 10 cancer cells in a blood sample -- before they even settle in other organs. Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061016121617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012185519.htm In a new survey of noise levels of the New York City transit system, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that exposure to noise levels in subways have the potential to exceed recommended guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the research, as little as 30 minutes of exposure to decibel levels measured in the New York City transit system per day has the potential to result in hearing loss. Sun, 15 Oct 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012185519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060908193225.htm An innovative technique that, for the first time, accurately measures exactly how sound behaves in "real-world" situations is now under development -- and could improve acoustics in buildings ranging from concert halls to railway stations. Thu, 14 Sep 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060908193225.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060820194004.htm A new type of laser for voice surgery (phonosurgery), utilized for the first time at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), has allowed Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler to resume performing after a tour-ending vocal injury. Recently, he and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry headlined the annual Boston Pops July Fourth Esplanade concert. Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060820194004.htm