• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS Feed
Elevating Sound
  • Soundscape
    • Urban Soundscape
    • Nature
    • Art & Culture
  • Sound Gear
    • Consumer Electronics
    • Household Appliances
    • Ear Protection
    • Acoustic Solutions
    • Books
  • Quiet Cars
  • Sound Design
    • Architecture & Acoustic Design
    • Audio Branding & Marketing
    • Music & Entertainment
    • Industrial Design
    • Soundproofing
  • Health
    • Noise Pollution
    • Tinnitus & Hyperacusis
    • Hard of Hearing & Deaf
    • Sound Treatment
  • Science
    • Psychology
No Result
View All Result
  • Soundscape
    • Urban Soundscape
    • Nature
    • Art & Culture
  • Sound Gear
    • Consumer Electronics
    • Household Appliances
    • Ear Protection
    • Acoustic Solutions
    • Books
  • Quiet Cars
  • Sound Design
    • Architecture & Acoustic Design
    • Audio Branding & Marketing
    • Music & Entertainment
    • Industrial Design
    • Soundproofing
  • Health
    • Noise Pollution
    • Tinnitus & Hyperacusis
    • Hard of Hearing & Deaf
    • Sound Treatment
  • Science
    • Psychology
No Result
View All Result
Elevating Sound
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

The Beauty of Acoustic Levitation (Video)

Magnus Kähler by Magnus Kähler
January 5, 2014 - Updated on April 22, 2020
in Science
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Picture 63
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It’s very fascinating to see new progress being made in the area of acoustic levitation, which will see far-reaching value-adding applications in chemical and biological processes. Before we look at an interesting video, let’s talk about what it is.

Defining Acoustic Levitation

Wikipedia defines acoustic levitation as follows:

 “Acoustic levitation is a method for suspending matter in a medium by using acoustic radiation pressure from intense sound waves in the medium. Acoustic levitation is possible because of the non-linear effects of intense sound waves.

Some methods can levitate objects without creating sound heard by the human ear such as the one demonstrated at Otsuka Lab.

By 2013, acoustic levitation had progressed from motionless levitation to controllably moving hovering objects; an ability useful in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries.

There is no known theoretical limit to what acoustic levitation can lift given enough vibratory sound, but current technology can only lift a few kilograms.”

A Multitude of Applications

The ability to levitate multiple objects and manipulate them in a 3D space will find many useful applications in chemistry and biology as well as science overall. There are a lot of chemical and biological processes that can be disrupted by contact with a surface and acoustic levitation is the optimal solution to alleviate that issue.

The fact that levitation can be achieved without the need for magnetism or buoyancy is a great advantage for science. So instead of being limited to magnetic objects, scientist can react anything by leveraging levitation.

Three-Dimensional Mid-Air Acoustic Manipulation

We found a fascinating video demonstrating the beauty of the latest advances in acoustic levitation.

The research team at the University of Tokyo employ ultrasonic speakers at a sound frequency that is not audible to humans.

On Google+, Martijn Vreugde explains the sound-based levitation technology used:

“The essence of levitation technology is the countervailing of gravity. It is known that an ultrasound standing wave is capable of suspending small particles at its sound pressure nodes and, so far, this method has been used to levitate lightweight particles, small creatures, and water droplets.

The acoustic axis of the ultrasound beam in these previous studies was parallel to the gravitational force, and the levitated objects were manipulated along the fixed axis (i.e. one-dimensionally) by controlling the phases or frequencies of bolted Langevin-type transducers.

In the present study, we considered extended acoustic manipulation whereby millimetre-sized particles were levitated and moved three-dimensionally by localised ultrasonic standing waves, which were generated by ultrasonic phased arrays. Our manipulation system has two original features. One is the direction of the ultrasound beam, which is arbitrary because the force acting toward its centre is also utilised. The other is the manipulation principle by which a localised standing wave is generated at an arbitrary position and moved three-dimensionally by opposed and ultrasonic phased arrays. We experimentally confirmed that various materials could be manipulated by our proposed method.”

Tags: acoustic levitationsound wavesultrasonic soundvideos
Share2TweetShareShareSendSend
Magnus Kähler

Magnus Kähler

Swedish founder of Elevating Sound - Your Sound Guide to a Sound World. I have set out to inform and educate about progressive sound thinking, leading sound innovations and issues around noise in society.If you wish to support the initiative and help Elevating Sound increase its impact, please CLICK HERE to become a patron.

Related Posts

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World
Soundscape

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

July 2, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021
Elevating Sound Now on Facebook
Health

Elevating Sound Now on Facebook

December 30, 2013 - Updated on April 22, 2020
Microsoft Demonstrates Speech Recognition Breakthrough for the Spoken, Translated Word
Consumer Electronics

Microsoft Demonstrates Speech Recognition Breakthrough for the Spoken, Translated Word

October 3, 2013 - Updated on April 22, 2020
The Sources of Sound
Science

The Sources of Sound

October 10, 2012 - Updated on July 4, 2013
Acoustic Levitation Inspires Development of Better Drugs
Science

Acoustic Levitation Inspires Development of Better Drugs

September 28, 2012 - Updated on January 5, 2014
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to our Free Newsletter

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
The Top 30 Quietest Cars – A Cabin Noise Test by AUTO BILD

The Top 30 Quietest Cars – A Cabin Noise Test by AUTO BILD

September 25, 2013 - Updated on April 22, 2020
Bosch Leads Quiet with the Quietest Dishwasher in North America

Bosch Leads Quiet with the Quietest Dishwasher in North America

December 30, 2013 - Updated on April 22, 2020
Elevating Sound Now on Facebook

Elevating Sound Now on Facebook

December 30, 2013 - Updated on April 22, 2020
How Excessively Noisy Toys Can Damage Your Child’s Hearing – Find Out Which Toys to Avoid

How Excessively Noisy Toys Can Damage Your Child’s Hearing – Find Out Which Toys to Avoid

January 4, 2014 - Updated on April 22, 2020
Tired of Cabin Noise? Here Is Your Guide to Getting a Quiet Car

Tired of Cabin Noise? Here Is Your Guide to Getting a Quiet Car

132
Lexus LS 600h - The Quietest Passenger Car in the World

The Price of Quiet Driving – A Noise Study of 35 Passenger Cars

102
The Top 30 Quietest Cars – A Cabin Noise Test by AUTO BILD

The Top 30 Quietest Cars – A Cabin Noise Test by AUTO BILD

16
Why Super Fast Hand Dryers Exclude People From Public Spaces

Why Super Fast Hand Dryers Exclude People From Public Spaces

14
Mercedes S-Class quietest car

11 Great Insights About Noise in Cars

May 3, 2021
protect ears and hearing from loud noise using hands

How to protect hearing from loud noise using your hands

May 3, 2021

Elevating Quiet Luxury – Kia Claims to be Quieter than Audi, BMW and Lexus

July 17, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021
The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

July 2, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021

Recent News

Mercedes S-Class quietest car

11 Great Insights About Noise in Cars

May 3, 2021
protect ears and hearing from loud noise using hands

How to protect hearing from loud noise using your hands

May 3, 2021

Elevating Quiet Luxury – Kia Claims to be Quieter than Audi, BMW and Lexus

July 17, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021
The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

July 2, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021

Follow Us

Support Elevating Sound

Become a Patron!

Subscribe to our Free Newsletter

Browse by Category

  • Acoustic Solutions
  • Architecture & Acoustic Design
  • Art & Culture
  • Books
  • Branding & Marketing
  • Consumer Electronics
  • Ear Protection
  • Family & Kids
  • Hard of Hearing & Deaf
  • Health
  • Household Appliances
  • Industrial Design
  • Music & Entertainment
  • Nature
  • Noise Pollution
  • Psychology
  • Quiet Cars
  • Science
  • Sound Design
  • Sound Gear
  • Sound Treatment
  • Soundproofing
  • Soundscape
  • Tinnitus & Hyperacusis
  • Urban Soundscape

Latest Articles

Mercedes S-Class quietest car

11 Great Insights About Noise in Cars

May 3, 2021
protect ears and hearing from loud noise using hands

How to protect hearing from loud noise using your hands

May 3, 2021

Elevating Quiet Luxury – Kia Claims to be Quieter than Audi, BMW and Lexus

July 17, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021
The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World

July 2, 2014 - Updated on March 17, 2021
Noise Levels of Urban America – Why the City Soundscape Needs to be Transformed

Noise Levels of Urban America – Why the City Soundscape Needs to be Transformed

June 28, 2014 - Updated on April 23, 2020
  • Soundscape
  • Sound Gear
  • Quiet Cars
  • Sound Design
  • Health
  • Science

Reimagine © 2024

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Soundscape
    • Urban Soundscape
    • Nature
    • Art & Culture
  • Sound Gear
    • Consumer Electronics
    • Household Appliances
    • Ear Protection
    • Acoustic Solutions
    • Books
  • Quiet Cars
  • Sound Design
    • Architecture & Acoustic Design
    • Audio Branding & Marketing
    • Music & Entertainment
    • Industrial Design
    • Soundproofing
  • Health
    • Noise Pollution
    • Tinnitus & Hyperacusis
    • Hard of Hearing & Deaf
    • Sound Treatment
  • Science
    • Psychology

Reimagine © 2024