Sharkskin switches –
“Acoustic metamaterials” can mimic key components of a sound “computer.”
Jennifer Ouellette – Mar 33, (6:) PM UTC
Now a team of scientists from the University of Southern California have developed an acoustic metamaterial that can switch between different uses by applying carefully tailored magnetic fields , according to a new paper in the journal Research. The structure of these new metamaterials was inspired by the unusual structure of shark skin. They can be used to mimic the function of switches, logic gates, or diodes, raising the possibility of a sound “computer.”
They molded the pillars out of liquid silicone rubber (to ensure flexibility) combined with iron nanoparticles, curing the mixture for about five hours before removing them from the molds. The secret to blocking or transmitting sound lies in the structure: in this case, the space between an array of pillars. Put the pillars close together, and they will trap sound waves rather than letting them pass through. Place them farther apart, and the sound can propagate through the material.
The iron nanoparticles make the material bend in response to external magnetic fields. “We use the external magnetic field to bend the pillar and unbend the pillar to achieve this sort of state switching,” co-author Kyung Hoon Lee said . That allows the material to switch back and forth between damping and transmitting sound waves.
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