At War With Acoustics!
From time to time I comment on some of the wide range of totally different applications which have involved ‘acoustic energy’ in one form or another.
One such interesting field was the development ‘acoustic location’ devices for the passive detection of aircraft by picking up the noise of their engines. It was also employed to try and determine the presence and position of ships in fog. These ‘devices’ came in many design shapes & sizes from mid World War 1 until the early years of World War 2. However they were rendered obsolete by the introduction or radar which proved to be considerably more effective. Such horns provided both acoustic gain and directionality and because of the increased inter-horn spacing compared with human ears, increased the observer’s ability to localise the direction of the sound.
The earliest audio-location device, used to assist navigation in fog was Professor Mayer’s Topophone devised in 1880 (photograph 1).
My second photograph shows a massive two-horn system being tested at Bolling Field, close to the US Army War College at Fort McNair in 1921. Most every advanced country designed and developed their own unique detection devices – none more so than Japan!
My final photograph, taken in the 1930s, shows the Japanese War Tubas with what appears to be two horns in a horizontal plane and two more in a vertical plane mounted on four wheel carriages. On the right of this photograph is the Japanese emperor Horohito and behind him are the AA guns intended to be used in conjunction with the acoustic locators.
Of course the complete opposite is true with Primasonics Sonic Horns – they are now very much the new proven innovative acoustic cleaning technology which is replacing older, ‘devices’ such as soot blowers and air cannons. Take a look at our sonic horn web site to see for yourself how these acoustic cleaners provide a safe, automated, solution for the effective prevention and removal of dry powder and particulate build-ups and blockages.
One such interesting field was the development ‘acoustic location’ devices for the passive detection of aircraft by picking up the noise of their engines. It was also employed to try and determine the presence and position of ships in fog. These ‘devices’ came in many design shapes & sizes from mid World War 1 until the early years of World War 2. However they were rendered obsolete by the introduction or radar which proved to be considerably more effective. Such horns provided both acoustic gain and directionality and because of the increased inter-horn spacing compared with human ears, increased the observer’s ability to localise the direction of the sound.The earliest audio-location device, used to assist navigation in fog was Professor Mayer’s Topophone devised in 1880 (photograph 1).
My second photograph shows a massive two-horn system being tested at Bolling Field, close to the US Army War College at Fort McNair in 1921. Most every advanced country designed and developed their own unique detection devices – none more so than Japan!
My final photograph, taken in the 1930s, shows the Japanese War Tubas with what appears to be two horns in a horizontal plane and two more in a vertical plane mounted on four wheel carriages. On the right of this photograph is the Japanese emperor Horohito and behind him are the AA guns intended to be used in conjunction with the acoustic locators.Of course the complete opposite is true with Primasonics Sonic Horns – they are now very much the new proven innovative acoustic cleaning technology which is replacing older, ‘devices’ such as soot blowers and air cannons. Take a look at our sonic horn web site to see for yourself how these acoustic cleaners provide a safe, automated, solution for the effective prevention and removal of dry powder and particulate build-ups and blockages.
posted by DFC at
9:10 AM
