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Using Sound

Sound Waves: The Symphony of Physics Series 1
Episode 2 of 2

Dr Helen Czerski examines the extraordinary messages sound waves carry and how they help us understand the world around us.

Dr Helen Czerski examines the extraordinary messages sound waves carry and how they help us understand the world around us.

Visiting a hidden location buried beneath the hills of Scotland, Helen experiences some of the most extreme acoustics in the world. Here she learns just how much information can be carried by sound. She discovers how sound has driven the evolution of truly incredible biological systems and complex relationships between creatures that exploit sound for hunting - and escaping from predators. Helen demonstrates how sound waves diffract (bend around objects) and in doing so help us sense danger and locate it.

Through the story of a cochlea implant patient Helen explores the complicated way our ears can translate sound waves - a physical vibration in the air - into an electrical signal our brain can understand.

Helen explains how we are not limited to passively detecting sound waves, we can also use them to actively probe the world. From detecting submarines to uncovering the secrets of our planet, sound waves are instrumental in revealing things hidden from the world of light. On the cold North Sea, Helen investigates how marine archaeologists are using sound waves to uncover the remarkable human stories buried beneath the sea. Yet we are not limited to using sound waves here on Earth, as Helen explains how sound has been used to better understand distant, alien worlds in the outer solar system.

59 minutes

Last on

Mon 27 Jun 2022 01:45
成人论坛 Four

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:43

    Gregory Hoepffner

    Blaze

  • 00:47

    Stefano Ruggeri

    Bent and Broken

Credits

Presenter Helen Czerski
Producer Suzy Boyles
Director Suzy Boyles
Executive Producer Jonathan Renouf

Broadcasts

Explore more about the science behind sounds and how we hear, with The Open University

Try the OU's sea shell experiment, to find out why we think we can hear the waves.