Ultrasonics - Real-life applications
Pets and Pests: Ultrasonic Behavior Modification
Some of the simplest ultrasonic applications build on the fact that the upper range of audibility for human beings is relatively low among animals. Cats, by comparison, have an infrasound threshold only slightly higher than that of humans (100 Hz), but their ultrasound range of audibility is much greater—32,000 Hz instead of a mere 20,000. This explains why a cat sometimes seems to respond mysteriously to noises its owner is incapable of hearing.
For dogs, the difference is even more remarkable: their lower threshold is 40 Hz, and their high end 46,000 Hz, giving them a range more than twice that of humans. It has been said Paul McCartney, who was fond of his sheepdog Martha, arranged for the Beatles' sound engineer at Abbey Road Studios to add a short 20,000-Hz tone at the very end of Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. Thus—if the story is true—the Beatles' human fans would never hear the note, but it would be a special signal to Martha and all the dogs of England.
On a more practical level, a dog whistle is an extremely simple ultrasonic or near-ultrasonic device, one that obviously involves no transducers. The owner blows the whistle, which utters a tone nearly in audible to humans but—like McCartney's 20,000-Hz tone—well within a dog's range. In fact, the Acme Silent Dog Whistle, which the company has produced since 1935, emits a tone that humans can hear (the listed range is 5,800 to 12,400 Hz), but which dogs can hear much better.
There are numerous products on the market that use ultrasonic waves for animal behavior modification of one kind or another; however, most such items are intended to repel rather than attract the animal. Hence, there are ultrasonic devices to discourage animals from relieving themselves in the wrong places, as well as some which keep unwanted dogs and cats away.
Then there is one of the most well-known uses of ultrasound for pets, which, rather than keeping other animals out, is designed to keep one's own animals in the yard. Many people know this item as an "Invisible Fence," though in fact that term is a registered trademark of the Invisible Fence Company. The "Invisible Fence" and similar products literally create a barrier of sound, using both radio signals and ultrasonics. The pet is outfitted with a collar that contains a radio receiver, and a radio transmitter is placed in some centrally located place on the owner's property—a basement, perhaps, or a garage. The "fence" itself is "visible," though usually buried, and consists of an antenna wire at the perimeter of the property. The transmitter sends a signal to the wire, which in turn signals the pet's collar. A tiny computer in the collar emits an ultrasonic sound if the animal tries to stray beyond the boundaries.
Not all animals have a higher range of hearing than humans: elephants, for instance, cannot hear tones above 12,000 Hz. On the other hand, some are drastically more sensitive acoustically than dogs: bats, whales, and dolphins all have an upper range of 150,000 Hz, though both have a low-end threshold of 1,000. Mice, at 100,000 Hz, are also at the high end, while a number of other pests—rodents and insects—fall into the region between 40,000 and 100,000 Hz. This fact has given rise to another type of ultrasonic device, for repelling all kinds of unwanted household creatures by bombarding them with ear-splitting tones.
An example of this device is the Transonic 1X-L, which offers three frequency ranges: "loud mode" (1,000-50,000 Hz); "medium mode" (10,000-50,000 Hz); and "quiet mode" (20,000-50,000 Hz). The lowest of these can be used for repelling pest birds and small animals, the medium range for insects, and the "quiet mode" for rodents.
ultrasonic Detection in Medicine
Medicine represents one of the widest areas of application for ultrasound. Though the machinery used to provide parents-to-be with an image of their unborn child is the most well-known form of medical ultrasound, it is far from the only one. Developed in 1957 by British physician Ian Donald (1910-1987), also a pioneer in the use of ultrasonics to detect flaws in machinery, ultra-sound was first used to diagnosis a patient's heart condition. Within a year, British hospitals began using it with pregnant women.
High-frequency waves penetrate soft tissue with ease, but they bounce off of harder tissue such as organs and bones, and thus send back a message to the transducer. Because each type of tissue absorbs or deflects sound differently, according to its density, the ultrasound machine can interpret these signals, creating an image of what it "sees" inside the patient's body. The technician scans the area to be studied with a series of ultrasonic waves in succession, and this results in the creation of a moving picture. It is this that creates the sight so memorable in the lives of many a modern parent: their first glimpse of their child in its mother's womb.
Though ultrasound enables physicians and nurses to determine the child's sex, this is far from being the only reason it is used. It also gives them data concerning the fetus's size; position (for instance, if the head is in a place that suggests the baby will have to be delivered by means of cesarean section); and other abnormalities.
The beauty of ultrasound is that it can provide this information without the danger posed by x rays or incisions. Doctors and ultrasound technicians use ultrasonic technology to detect body parts as small as 0.004 in (0.1 mm), making it possible to conduct procedures safely, such as locating foreign objects in the eye or measuring the depth of a severe burn. Furthermore, ultrasonic microscopes can image cellular structures to within 0.2 microns (0.002 mm).
Ultrasonic heart examination can locate tumors, valve diseases, and accumulations of fluid. Using the Doppler effect—the fact that a sound's perceived frequency changes as its source moves past the observer—physicians observe shifts in the frequency of ultrasonic measurements to determine the direction of blood flow in the body. Not only can ultrasound be used to differentiate tumors from healthy tissue, it can sometimes be used to destroy those tumors. In some cases, ultrasound actually destroys cancer cells, making use of a principle called cavitation—a promising area of ultrasound research.
Perhaps the best example of cavitation occurs when you are boiling a pot of water: bubbles—temporary cavities in the water itself—rise up from the bottom to the surface, then collapse, making a popping sound as they do. Among the research areas combining cavitation and ultrasonics are studies of light emissions produced in the collapse of a cavity created by an ultrasonic wave. These emissions are so intense that for an infinitesimal moment, they produce heat of staggering proportions—hotter than the surface of the Sun, some scientists maintain. (Again, it should be stressed that this occurs during a period too small to measure with any but the most sophisticated instruments.)
As for the use of cavitation in attacking cancer cells, ultrasonic waves can be used to create microscopic bubbles which, when they collapse, produce intense shock waves that destroy the cells. Doctors are now using a similar technique against gallstones and kidney stones. Other medical uses of ultrasound technology include ultrasonic heat for treating muscle strain, or—in a process similar to some industrial applications—the use of 25,000-Hz signals to clean teeth.
Sonar and Other Detection Devices
Airplane pilots typically use radar, but the crew of a ocean-going vessel relies on sonar (SOund Navigation and Ranging) to guide their vessel through the ocean depths. This technology takes advantage of the fact that sound waves travel well under water—much better, in fact, than light waves. Whereas a high-powered light would be of limited value underwater, particularly in the murky realms of the deep sea, sonar provides excellent data on the water's depth, as well as the location of shipwrecks, large obstacles—and, for commercial or even recreational fishermen—the presence of fish.
At the bottom of the craft's hull is a transducer, which emits an ultrasonic pulse. These sound waves travel through the water to the bottom, where they bounce back. Upon receiving the echo, the transducer sends this information to an onboard computer, which converts data on the amount of time the signal took, providing a reading of distance that gives an accurate measurement of the vessel's clearance. For instance, it takes one second for sound waves from a depth of 2,500 ft (750 m) to return to the ship. The onboard computer converts this data into a rough picture of what lies below: the ocean floor, and schools of fish or other significant objects between it and the ship.
Even more useful is a scanning sonar, which adds dimension to the scope of the ship's ultrasonic detection: not only does the sonar beam move forward along with the vessel, but it moves from side-to-side, providing a picture of a wider area along the ship's path. Sonar in general, and particularly scanning sonar, is of particular importance to a submarine's crew. Despite the fact that the periscope is perhaps the most notable feature of these underwater craft, from the viewpoint of a casual observer, in fact, the purely visual data provided by the periscope is of limited value—and that value decreases as the sub descends. It is thanks to sonar (which produces the pinging sound one so often hears in movie scenes depicting the submarine control room), combined with nuclear technology, that makes it possible for today's U.S. Navy submarines to stay submerged for months.
Sonar is perhaps the most dramatic use of ultrasonic technology for detection; less wellknown—but equally intriguing, especially for its connection with clandestine activity—is the use of ultrasonics for electronic eavesdropping. Private detectives, suspicious spouses, and no doubt international spies from the CIA or Britain's MI5, use ultrasonic waves to listen to conversations in places where they cannot insert a microphone. For example, an operative might want to listen in on an encounter taking place on the seventh floor of a building with heavy security, meaning it would be impossible to plant a microphone either inside the room or on the window ledge.
Instead, the operative uses ultrasonic waves, which a transducer beams toward the window of the room being monitored. If people are speaking inside the room, this will produce vibrations on the window the transducer can detect, although the sounds would not be decipherable as conversation by a person with unaided perception. Speech vibrations from inside produce characteristic effects on the ultrasonic waves beamed back to the transducer and the operative's monitoring technology. The transducer then converts these reflected vibrations into electrical signals, which analysts can then reconstruct as intelligible sounds.
Much less dramatic, but highly significant, is the use of ultrasonic technology for detection in industry. Here the purpose is to test materials for faults, holes, cracks, or signs of corrosion. Again, the transducer beams an ultrasonic signal, and the way in which the material reflects this signal can alert the operator to issues such as metal fatigue or a faulty weld. Another method is to subject the material or materials to stress, then look for characteristic acoustic emissions from the stressed materials. (The latter is a developing field of acoustics known as acoustic emission.)
Though industrial detection applications can be used on materials such as porcelain (to test for microscopic cracks) or concrete (to evaluate how well it was poured), ultrasonics is particularly effective on metal, in which sound moves more quickly and freely than any other type of wave. Not only does ultrasonics provide an opportunity for thorough, informative, but nondestructive testing, it also allows technicians to penetrate areas where they otherwise could not go—or, in the case of ultrasonic inspection of the interior of a nuclear reactor while in operation—would not and should not go.
Binding and Loosening: A Host of Industrial Applications
Materials testing is but one among myriad uses for ultrasonics in industry, applications that can be described broadly as "binding and loosening"—either bringing materials together, or pulling them apart.
For instance, ultrasound is often used to bind, or coagulate, loose particles of dust, mist, or smoke. This makes it possible to clean a factory smokestack before it exhales pollutants into the atmosphere, or to clear clumps of fog and mist off a runway. Another form of "binding" is the use of ultrasonic vibrations to heat and weld together materials. Ultrasonics provides an even, localized flow of molten material, and is effective both on plastics and metals.
Ultrasonic soldering implements the principle of cavitation, producing microscopic bubbles in molten solder, a process that removes metal oxides. Hence, this is a case of both "binding" (soldering) and "loosening"—removing impurities from the area to be soldered. The dairy industry, too, uses ultrasonics for both purposes: ultrasonic waves break up fat globules in milk, so that the fat can be mixed together with the milk in the well-known process of homogenization. Similarly, ultrasonic pasteurization facilitates the separation of the milk from harmful bacteria and other microorganisms.
The uses of ultrasonics to "loosen" include ultrasonic humidification, where in ultrasonic vibrations reduce water to a fine spray. Similarly, ultrasonic cleaning uses ultrasound to break down the attraction between two different types of materials. Though it is not yet practical for home use, the technology exists today to use ultrasonics for laundering clothes without using water: the ultrasonic vibrations break the bond between dirt particles and the fibers of a garment, shaking loose the dirt and subjecting the fabric to far less trauma than the agitation of a washing machine does.
As noted earlier, dentists use ultrasound for cleaning teeth, another example of loosening the bond between materials. In most of these forms of ultrasonic cleaning, a critical part of the process is the production of microscopic shock waves in the process of cavitation. The frequency of sound waves in these operations ranges from 15,000 Hz (15 kHz) to 2 million Hz (2 MHz). Ultrasonic cleaning has been used on metals, plastics, and ceramics, as well as for cleaning precision instruments used in the optical, surgical, and dental fields. Nor is it just for small objects: the electronics, automotive, and aircraft industries make heavy use of ultrasonic cleaning for a variety of machines.
Ultrasonic "loosening" makes it possible to drill though extremely hard or brittle materials, including tungsten carbide or precious stones. Just as a dental hygienist cleaning a person's teeth bombards the enamel with gentle abrasives, this form of high-intensity drilling works hand-in-hand with the use of abrasive materials such as silicon carbide or aluminum oxide.
A World of Applications
Scientists often use ultrasound in research, for instance to break up high molecular weight polymers, thus creating new plastic materials. Indeed, ultrasound also makes it possible to determine the molecular weight of liquid polymers, and to conduct other forms of investigation on the physical properties of materials.
Ultrasonics can also speed up certain chemical reactions. Hence, it has gained application in agriculture, thanks to research which revealed that seeds subjected to ultrasound may germinate more rapidly and produce higher yields. In addition to its uses in the dairy industry, noted above, ultrasonics is of value to farmers in the related beef industry, who use it to measure cows' fat layers before taking them to market.
In contrast to the use of ultrasonics for electronic eavesdropping, as noted earlier, today ultrasonic technology is available to persons who think someone might be spying on them: now they can use ultrasonics to detect the presence of electronic eavesdropping, and thus circumvent it. Closer to home is another promising application of ultrasonics for remote sensing of sounds: ultrasonic stereo speakers.
These make use of research dating back to the 1960s, which showed that ultrasound waves of relatively low frequency can carry audible sound to pinpointed locations. In 1996, Woody Norris had perfected the technology necessary to reduce distortion, and soon he and his son Joe began selling the ultrasonic speakers through the elder Norris's company, American Technology Corporation of San Diego, California.
Eric Niiler in Business Week described a demonstration: "Joe Norris twists a few knobs on a receiver, takes aim with a 10-inch-square gold-covered flat speaker, and blasts an invisible beam…. Thirty feet away, the tinny but easily recognizable sound of Vivaldi's Four Seasons rushes over you. Step to the right or left, however, and it fades away. The exotic-looking speaker emits 'sound beams' that envelop the listener but are silent to those nearby. 'We use the air as our virtual speakers,' says Norris…." Niiler went to note several other applications suggested by Norris: "Airline passengers could listen to their own music channel sans headphones without disturbing neighbors. Troops could confuse the enemy with 'virtual' artillery fire, or talk to each other without having their radio communications picked up by eavesdroppers."
WHERE TO LEARN MORE
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Knight, David C. Silent Sound: The World of Ultrasonics. New York: Morrow, 1980.
Langone, John. National Geographic's How Things Work. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1999.
Medical Ultrasound WWW Directory (Web site). <http://www.ultrasoundinsider.com> (February 16, 2001).
Niiler, Eric; edited by Alex Salkever. "Now Here This—IfYou're in the Sweet Spot." Business Week , October 16, 2000.
Meire, Hylton B. and Pat Farrant. Basic Ultrasound. Chichester, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
Suplee, Curt. Everyday Science Explained. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1996.