Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Would traffic noise from future flying cars cause stress?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Study shows that not only are loud vehicles flying overhead a cause of noise pollution-related stress, the effect of that stress remains on the body even after noise levels have decreased.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

The Secret of Swing: Downbeat delays      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Jazz must swing -- jazz musicians agree on that. However, even 100 years after the beginnings of jazz, it is still unclear what exactly constitutes the swing feel. With a sophisticated experiment and data analyses on more than 450 well-known jazz solos, physicists together with psychologists have unraveled a secret of swing. They were able to demonstrate that certain systematic deviations in timing are a key component of swing. These microtiming deviations are so small that they are not perceived as such even by professional jazz musicians, who nonetheless are using them unconsciously.

Engineering: Biometric
Published

New report offers blueprint for regulation of facial recognition technology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new report outlines a model law for facial recognition technology to protect against harmful use of this technology, but also foster innovation for public benefit.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Wind music causes less transmission than singing, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The risk of transmission from an infected person on a wind instrument is generally much lower than for people who sing or speak, provided that one spends the same amount of time in their vicinity, according to a new study.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

The super-fast MRI scan that could revolutionize heart failure diagnosis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed cutting-edge technology to diagnose patients with heart failure in record time. The state-of-the-art technology uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to create detailed 4D flow images of the heart. But unlike a standard MRI scan, which can take up to 20 minutes or more, the new 4D heart MRI scan takes just eight minutes.

Engineering: Biometric
Published

How old is that fingerprint?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Forensic dramas on TV make it seem easy to determine when fingerprints were left at the scene of a crime. In reality, the oils in fingerprints degrade over time, and it's difficult to figure out their age. Now, researchers have discovered molecular markers for changes to these oils over a seven-day time period -- information that could be used to estimate fingerprints' ages more accurately.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Low-cost disease diagnosis by mapping heart sounds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers develop a method to identify aortic valve dysfunction using complex network analysis that is accurate, simple to use, and low-cost. They used heart sound data to create a complex network of connected points, which was split into sections, and each part was represented with a node. If the sound in two portions was similar, a line was drawn between them. In a healthy heart, the graph showed two distinct clusters of points, with many nodes unconnected. A heart with aortic stenosis contained many more correlations and edges.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Saturn V was loud but didn't melt concrete      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Abundant internet claims about the acoustic power of the Saturn V suggest that it melted concrete and lit grass on fire over a mile away, but such ideas are undeniably false. Researchers used a physics-based model to estimate the rocket's acoustic levels and obtained a value of 203 decibels, which matched the limited data from the 1960s. So, while the Saturn V was extremely loud, that kind of power is nowhere near enough to melt concrete or start grass fires.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Do wind instruments disperse COVID aerosol droplets?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Orchestral ensembles have faced many challenges when starting to perform again during the COVID pandemic, and contamination is a chief concern: specifically, whether wind instruments are vectors of contamination through aerosol dispersion. Researchers worked with musicians to deepen our understanding of how much aerosol is produced and dispersed by wind instruments. They used visualization to characterize the flow, tracked fog particles in the air, and measured aerosol concentration from wind instruments with a particle counter. Then they combined these to develop an equation to describe aerosol dispersion.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Using sound and bubbles to make bandages stickier and longer lasting      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered that they can control the stickiness of adhesive bandages using ultrasound waves and bubbles. This breakthrough could lead to new advances in medical adhesives, especially in cases where adhesives are difficult to apply such as on wet skin.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Ultrasound could save racehorses from bucked shins      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When racehorses enter training at about 2 years old, they can develop tiny stress fractures and new bone formations in their legs. This condition, called bucked shin, occurs in about 70% of the animals. Researchers have now developed a method to screen for bucked shin using ultrasound. Axial transmission, in which an ultrasound emitter and receiver are placed on the skin to induce and measure wave velocities, is frequently used to study osteoporosis in humans. The method could detect bucked shin more easily and preserve the health and growth of young horses.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Leadership online: Charisma matters most in video communication      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Managers need to make a consistent impression in order to motivate and inspire people, and that applies even more to video communication than to other digital channels. Researchers investigated the influence that charismatic leadership tactics used in text, audio and video communication channels have on employee performance. They focused on mobile work and the gig economy, in which jobs are flexibly assigned to freelancers via online platforms.

Engineering: Biometric
Published

Optical imaging of dynamic interactions between molecules in a cell      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers develop the 'photoswitching fingerprint analysis'. A unique technology that for the first time allows the analysis of molecular processes and the regulation of individual proteins in living cells with sub-10 nm spatial resolution. The application ranges from biological to medical research.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers designed an adhesive patch that produces ultrasound images of the body. The stamp-sized device sticks to skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Improving image sensors for machine vision      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers highlight the latest nanostructured components integrated on image sensor chips that are most likely to make the biggest impact in multimodal imaging and detailed a promising approach to detect multiple-band spectra by fabricating an on-chip spectrometer. The developments could enable autonomous vehicles to see around corners instead of just a straight line, biomedical imaging to detect abnormalities at different tissue depths, and telescopes to see through interstellar dust.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Flexible method for shaping laser beams extends depth-of-focus for OCT imaging      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new method for flexibly creating various needle-shaped laser beams. These long, narrow beams can be used to improve optical coherence tomography (OCT), a noninvasive and versatile imaging tool that is used for scientific research and various types of clinical diagnoses.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Music-making and the flow of aerosols      (via sciencedaily.com) 

If simply breathing can spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others nearby, what about blowing into a tuba? Researchers used fluid mechanics to study the movement of aerosols generated by professional musicians.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Eco-friendly sound absorbers from seaweed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

From airplanes to apartments, most spaces are now designed with sound-absorbing materials that help dampen the droning, echoing and murmuring sounds of everyday life. But most of the acoustic materials that can cancel out human voices, traffic and music are made from plastic foams that aren't easily recycled or degraded. Now, researchers have created a biodegradable seaweed-derived film that effectively absorbs sounds in this range.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Scientists invent 'quantum flute' that can make particles of light move together      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists have invented a 'quantum flute' that, like the Pied Piper, can coerce particles of light to move together in a way that's never been seen before.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Hearing better with skin than ears      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team develops a sound-sensing skin-attachable acoustic sensor. The new sensor decreased in size and increased in flexibility and is applicable as auditory electronic skin.