Uses of Sound

Can sound be useful?

Echo's

Not all sound that hits matter is absorbed. Some of it is reflected. That means sound bounces off the solid matter the way a tennis ball bounces off a wall. Sound reflected back to its source is an echo.

Once you know how different materials affect sound, you can make it work for you.

When sound strikes soft materials, much of the sound is absorbed. A sound insulator is a material that absorbs most of the energy of sound waves. Geologists use their knowledge of rocks to help them locate oil resevoirs. Earthquakes can be tracked and their waves understood once the geologist understands how the earthquake waves travel through different kinds of rocks and magma.

Insulators Drapes carpets Sonar Ocean exploration Earthquake vibrations and waves Marine mamals and bats use sonar location The millitary uses sonar in submarines and in planes

Sound