Acoustic Levitation
In easy words, acoustic levitation means levitating something using sound waves.
The idea is you use sound waves from a bunch of different speakers pointed in different direction, focus on a point that you can levitate something at that point in mid air. This is real YO!!!
The idea is you use sound waves from a bunch of different speakers pointed in different direction, focus on a point that you can levitate something at that point in mid air. This is real YO!!!
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| Acoustic Levitator |
The reason behind this is standing waves.
Now what's that? Let's give it a quick touch!
It was Michael Faraday who first noticed standing waves. Faraday first observed standing waves on the surface of a liquid in a vibrating container.
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| Standing wave. |
Standing waves are not normal waves. Regular waves in physics is just disturbance travelling through a medium. But standing waves are different. They forms differently.
Imagine two waves, one going to the left another to the right. What will happen if they interfere? When two waves interfere something very special can happen. You will find a wave that isn't moving in any direction!! Isn't that crazy?! That's a standing wave. But, if you look closely to a standing wave, you will find points which neither moves nor oscillates.
These are called nodes.
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| Those blue points are nodes. |
Those nodes are the points where you can levitate something on an acoustic levitator.
Ok. In three dimensions we need a medium, we can send waves through. And that's air.
In three dimension nodes are there were air is not moving even though it is moving every were else.
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| Parts of an acoustic levitator. |
There are a bunch of speakers or transducers who produce the sound (40,000 Hertz) and at the opposite side there is a reflector. When you switch it on the speakers produces sound and the reflector reflects it. Then you know what happens. Two waves comes from opposite side and they co-incide forming a standing wave as well as nodes. Again this nodes are the points where you are levitating something.
There you have Acoustic Levitation!!!
People are familiar with magnetic levitation. And it's good because it's very strong. But it has a big limitation. And that's the materials you can levitate. Through magnetic levitation you can levitate ferromagnetic, diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials. But with acoustic levitation you you can levitate any sort of material. For instance, it could be liquid, it could be powder, it could be electronic components, insects etc.
That's all for now...
Happy levitating and Happy Physicsing!!!
#SHARE
Because Knowledge Worth Spreading.
There you have Acoustic Levitation!!!
People are familiar with magnetic levitation. And it's good because it's very strong. But it has a big limitation. And that's the materials you can levitate. Through magnetic levitation you can levitate ferromagnetic, diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials. But with acoustic levitation you you can levitate any sort of material. For instance, it could be liquid, it could be powder, it could be electronic components, insects etc.
That's all for now...
Happy levitating and Happy Physicsing!!!
#SHARE
Because Knowledge Worth Spreading.
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