The founder of the Bose audio company, Amar Bose, died on 12 July 2013, aged 83.
Read the news item on the MIT web site.
Man implants magnet into ear to make earphones
Rich Lee got a magnet surgically implanted into his ear. A coil around his neck generates a magnetic field that causes the magnet to vibrate and make sound.
Story via CNET.
Global Map of Underwater Noise from Shipping
Michael Porter and Laurel Henderson from Heat, Light, and Sound Research, Inc. will present a map of underwater noise level around the globe at the 21st International Conference on Acoustics. Simulations were conducted to determine the noise levels in the sea due to the propulsion noise from ship travelling on along shipping lanes around the globe.
See the article from the Space Daily web site.
Earthquakes telegraph impending tsunamis
Researchers at Stanford University have conducted simulations to show that vibration from an earthquake will reach land many minutes before the arrival of a tsunami, and could provide an early warning system.
Read the press release on the Stanford web site.
Ansys Service Pack 14.5.7 Released
A service pack for Ansys release 14.5.7 has been released according to an announcement by Ansys Inc.
The Most Annoying Sounds
The Journal of Neuroscience published a paper describing the top 10 most annoying sounds, according to a group of 16 people undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning of their brains when exposed to 74 different sounds. The results were:
1. Knife on a bottle
2. Fork on a glass
3. Chalk on a blackboard
4. Ruler on a bottle
5. Nails on a blackboard
6. Female scream
7. Anglegrinder (a power tool)
8. Squealing brakes on a bicycle
9. Baby crying
10. Electric drill
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
Wide-band echo sounder for locating fish
The ScienceDaily reports that Norwegian researchers have developed an echo sounder that simultaneously emits 100 frequencies. This enables the selective identification of a species of fish or zooplankton for viewing on the echogram or sonogram.
Source: The Research Council of Norway (2012, November 8). Next-generation echo sounder ready. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121108073807.htm
GM 2013 Cadillac Uses Active Noise Control
The new 2013 GM Cadillac ATS sports sedan uses active noise control from Bose to reduce noise inside the passenger cabin.
Three microphones on the interior door frame on the front driver and passenger and rear driver’s side monitor the sound quality. The loudspeakers from the audio system are used to cancel low frequency noise within the cabin between 40Hz-180Hz.
Read more on the GM news web site.
Active vibration isolation table
Accurion have released an active vibration isolation table, the i4 series, suitable for laboratory instrumentation. vibration isolatoin starts from 0.6Hz and at 10Hz provides 40dB of vibration attenuation.
Restaurant with variable acoustics
Popular Science have an interesting story of a restaurant in Berkley California with an ambient noise audio system that can be adjusted by staff, usually depending on the number people in the restaurant – if there are few patrons, the system is turned up, if the restaurant is full, the system is turned down.
Read the article on Popular Science.