3D Acoustic Manipulation: Seeminly-Unreal Levitation Using Soundwaves

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/MkNJ_CHrZNg/

http://hackaday.com/?p=111502

Wow. [Yoichi Ochiai], [Takayuki Hoshi] and [Jun Rekimoto] are researchers from the University of Tokyo and the Nagoya Institute of Technology, and they have just learned how to airbend.

Using a series of standing ultrasound waves, it is possible to suspend small particles at the sound pressure nodes. The acoustic axis of the ultrasound beam is parallel to gravity, which also allows the objects to be manipulated along the fixed axis by varying the phase or frequencies of the sound. By adding a second ultrasound beam perpendicular to the first it is possible to localize the pressure node, or focal point, and levitate small objects around a 2D plane.

In their demonstrations they float foam particles, a resistor, an LED, they show off the waves using a piece of dry ice, and even manage to float a small screw.

Sound like crazy talk? Just watch the video.

Want to build your own? We covered a much more simple DIY Acoustic Levitator rig a few months ago.

[via Hardware-360]

Filed under: misc hacks