Sound waves tunneling throughout a vacuum space. Credit: Zhuoran Geng and Ilari Maasilta
The renowned motion picture Alien when declared: “In space, no one can hear you scream.” However, physicists Zhuoran Geng and Ilari Maasilta from the Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyv äskylä, Finland, ask to vary. Their current research study recommends that under particular conditions, noise can certainly be sent strongly throughout a vacuum.
Their findings, released just recently in the journal Communications Physics, expose that in specific situations, acoustic waves can “tunnel” through a vacuum space in between 2 strong things, supplied those things are piezoelectric. These specific products produce an electrical reaction when subjected to acoustic wave or vibrations. Given that an electrical field can be present in a vacuum, it can efficiently bring these acoustic waves throughout.
The requirement is that the size of the space is smaller sized than the wavelength of the acoustic wave. This impact works not just in the audio variety of frequencies (Hz- kHz), however likewise in ultrasound (MHz) and hypersound (GHz) frequencies, as long as the vacuum space is made smaller sized as the frequencies increase.
“In most cases the effect is small, but we also found situations, where the full energy of the wave jumps across the vacuum with 100 % efficiency, without any reflections. As such, the phenomenon could find applications in microelectromechanical components (MEMS, smartphone technology) and in the control of heat,” states Professor Ilari Maasilta from the Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyv äskylä.
Reference: “Complete tunneling of acoustic waves between piezoelectric crystals” by Zhuoran Geng and Ilari J. Maasilta, 14 July 2023, Communications Physics
DOI: 10.1038/ s42005-023-01293- y
The research study was moneyed by the Academy of Finland and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program.
