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Physics & Astronomy

Department Features

Department Features

Current research and activities in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

How loud is the sound we can't hear?
Researchers in the BYU ARG are studying the high pitch noise that is above our hearing range, sponsored by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Undergraduates Trevor Jenny and Jayrin Farley (both mentored by Dr. Brian Anderson) will be exploring ultrasonic noise in everyday environments and the transmission properties of ultrasonic sound through various wall materials. Pictured above are various devices designed to listen to ultrasonic frequencies that are emitted from various electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops, and to listen to the ultrasound that various animals emit, such as bats and rodents. One of the above devices is a toy that dials down the ultrasonic frequencies to our hearing range so we can hear what a bat's world sounds like. One fundamental question for future research is whether sound that is above (or below) our hearing range can be loud enough to damage our hearing?

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