Sonic Signals Of The Aquatic Kind
As regular readers of my sonic horns blog will know, I find the science of audiosonics fascinating. So much so that, not only am I constantly looking for ways to improve our sonic horn technology, but I am always interested to hear or read about news stories that are in any way related to audiosonics.
The other day I was watching a tv documentary about how the lives of people on houseboats in San Francisco Bay had been disrupted some years ago by a weird noise that prevailed from dusk until dawn and was so loud that it kept them awake all night. All kinds of local officials had been brought in to try and get to the bottom of what was going on but after several weeks there appeared to be no solution, with everyone just scratching their heads!
The noise was recorded and played back on the program. My attention was immediately hooked! It was a strange humming sound, very strong and vibrant and clearly coming from under the water. One of the locals likened it to a 'humming refrigerator'
The program went on to explain how an expert from the Steinhart Aquarium was brought in to help solve the mystery and identified it to be the sound of ..... TOAD FISH.
So what could enable a fish under water to emit a sound so strong and so loud that it could keep humans awake? Well, it turns out that the toad fish is a species with a specially adapted swim bladder that it can use as an acoustic chamber and it 'hums' using this chamber to attract a mate. You can read more on this intriguing story in a New York Times article here
I then read further on the subject of fish and sound and discovered that over 80 species of fish actually use sound as an important means of communication. Some, like the toad fish use their swim bladder whilst others release air bubbles or grind their teeth. Here are 3 examples:
So from fish to ash debonding, if you want to be effective use the science of sonics!
The other day I was watching a tv documentary about how the lives of people on houseboats in San Francisco Bay had been disrupted some years ago by a weird noise that prevailed from dusk until dawn and was so loud that it kept them awake all night. All kinds of local officials had been brought in to try and get to the bottom of what was going on but after several weeks there appeared to be no solution, with everyone just scratching their heads!
The noise was recorded and played back on the program. My attention was immediately hooked! It was a strange humming sound, very strong and vibrant and clearly coming from under the water. One of the locals likened it to a 'humming refrigerator'
The program went on to explain how an expert from the Steinhart Aquarium was brought in to help solve the mystery and identified it to be the sound of ..... TOAD FISH.
So what could enable a fish under water to emit a sound so strong and so loud that it could keep humans awake? Well, it turns out that the toad fish is a species with a specially adapted swim bladder that it can use as an acoustic chamber and it 'hums' using this chamber to attract a mate. You can read more on this intriguing story in a New York Times article here
I then read further on the subject of fish and sound and discovered that over 80 species of fish actually use sound as an important means of communication. Some, like the toad fish use their swim bladder whilst others release air bubbles or grind their teeth. Here are 3 examples:
- The sergeant major fish defends its territory by emitting a chirruping sound;
- The puffer fish vocalises when it wants to defend itself;
- The cod fish emits a clicking sound when under threat and a grunting sound during courtship;
So from fish to ash debonding, if you want to be effective use the science of sonics!
Labels: acoustic chamber, boiler deslagging, san francisco bay, sonic signals, toad fish
posted by DFC at
6:30 AM
