A crazy new device emits directional sound waves that only the target can hear

Scientists at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have developed a device that directs sound waves in one direction without wasting energy. This amazing sound wave router consists of a disc-shaped cavity with three equally spaced ports for transmitting or receiving sound.

When activated, sound from one port is only heard on a second specified port, not the third. This is achieved by introducing swirling air into the cavity at a specific speed and density, creating a simultaneous, repeating pattern of sound waves.

The researchers believe the acoustic waveguide could help them better understand and design future communications technologies. The process used to direct sound waves not only directs the waves in one direction, but researchers say it also amplifies them.

The researchers made this new discovery by improving A Design 2014 From the University of Texas at Austin. This particular device suffered greatly from sound dissipation. However, the new device uses self-sustaining oscillations to conserve and even increase the energy of sound waves so that they do not extinguish before they reach their destination.

The technology that drives the acoustic waveguide could have many applications in new types of noise suppression, communications, and even radar systems. Researchers believe this could lead to the development of new metamaterials that allow us to manipulate electromagnetic waves.

The researchers believe that the concept of “loss-compensated non-reciprocal wave propagation” can be applied to other systems outside acoustics as well, such as light. The group has They published their findings On the new discovery in the magazine Nature Communications.

In that paper, they discuss how to improve the original design to create a sound waveguide that does not cause the waves to lose energy as they travel. They also hope this new design will help others study the propagation and manipulation of sound waves, such as using sound waves to make particles levitate.