PHYS 536 Independent study topic ideas R. J. Wilkes Here is a list of some recent articles in the New York Times and Scientific American magazine that could help you select a term paper topic. Of course, you will need to use information sources beyond one article for your paper. You can access NYT and SciAm back issues online via the UW Libraries website, see http://www.lib.washington.edu/help/connect 1. Acoustics related articles in New York Times The Philharmonic’s Home Gets a Tune-Up Auditoriums, just like instruments, need to be tuned. Here is how it happened at David Geffen Hall. 11/3/22 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/03/arts/music/geffen-hall-tuning.html also 10/2/22, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/arts/music/david-geffen-hall-reopening-lincoln-center.html Can Supersonic Air Travel Fly Again? The key to its revival may be a breakthrough in creating a quieter sonic boom. The challenges, though, are significant. 11/1/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/01/business/supersonic-plane-travel-concorde.html How a Historian Stuffed Hagia Sophia’s Sound Into a Studio A team based at Stanford University used virtual acoustics to bring Istanbul to California and reconstruct the sonic world of Byzantine cathedral music. 7/30/20 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/arts/music/hagia-sophia-acoustics-music.html Could Listening to the Deep Sea Help Save It? In the abyss, everyone can hear you scream. 11/10/20 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/science/deep-sea-marine-biology-acoustics.html In the Oceans, the Volume Is Rising as Never Before A new review of the scientific literature confirms that anthropogenic noise is becoming unbearable for undersea life. 2/4/21 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/science/ocean-marine-noise-pollution.html A Room in Midtown Is Quietly Fighting the Battle Against City Noise A new room in Manhattan, billed as ‘one of the quietest in the world,’ is designed to help developers and architects defend your ears. 5/20/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/realestate/pindrop-midtown-manhattan.html A ‘Sonic Attack’ on Diplomats in Cuba? These Scientists Doubt It The symptoms reported by U.S. embassy staff in Havana probably were not caused by a mysterious sonic weapon, experts said. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/science/cuba-sonic-weapon.html See also https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/science/sonic-attack-cuba-crickets.html The Sound of Silence How many crazy gizmos are needed to achieve your optimum sleep environment? https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/27/style/white-noise-machines.html Visitors From the Ocean’s Twilight Zone Researchers recently hauled up specimens from a layer of the world’s seas that contains an abundance of aquatic life. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/science/twilight-zone-ocean.html Listen to the Sounds of Narwhals That Have Been Elusive to Science As melting ice opens east Greenland to petroleum prospectors and cruises, scientists are rushing to study the noises made by a remote population of toothed whales. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/science/narwhals-greenland-sounds.html Russia Buys Crowd-Control Vehicles That Emit Sonic Waves and Light Russia's National Guard, which polices anti-government protests, has purchased two vehicles fitted with a laser and a sonic sound system to disorient people, raising fears among the opposition they could be used to disperse peaceful protesters. https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/11/22/world/europe/22reuters-russia-politics-protests.html To Create a Quieter City, They’re Recording the Sounds of New York The goal of the project, Sounds of New York City, or Sonyc, is to create an aural map that a group of researchers hopes will help city agencies monitor and enforce noise pollution, and will empower citizens to assist in the process. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/nyregion/to-create-a-quieter-city-theyre-recording-the-sounds-of-new-york.html NOTE: visit the sonyc website, https://wp.nyu.edu/sonyc/ for files of recordings collected by the project since the article was written. Surround Sound? You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet At Empac, musicians and technicians are learning to work with sophisticated advances in spatial audio technologies. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/arts/music/surround-sound-you-aint-heard-nothing-yet.html Seeking America’s Quietest Spots: The Quest for Silence in a Loud World Dennis Follensbee has climbed through New Hampshire’s White Mountains trying to find somewhere — anywhere — that is quiet. He is not alone in his quest. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/23/us/silence-escapes-noise-pollution-travel.html What Do Ducks Hear? And Why Do We Care? To develop acoustic warning devices that might save sea ducks from getting caught in fishing nets scientists are studying their underwater hearing. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/science/ducks-hearing-fishing.html What Happens When You Microwave a Boiled Egg Tasked with determining whether an exploding egg could damage a man’s hearing, acoustics experts learned more about the temperatures inside a microwaved yolk. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/science/egg-microwave.html Why Do Our Recorded Voices Sound Weird to Us? Many people are unpleasantly surprised when they hear recordings of themselves: Do we really sound like that? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/science/recorded-voices.html Z’ev, Percussionist and Industrial Music Pioneer, Dies at 66 An explorer of sound’s visceral and mystical dimensions, Z’ev was a performer, composer and theorist for whom “cacophonous” was a compliment. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/obituaries/zev-percussionist-and-industrial-music-pioneer-dies-at-66.html 2. Acoustics related articles in Scientific American magazine Engineered Metamaterials Can Trick Light and Sound into Mind-Bending Behavior Advanced materials can modify waves, creating optical illusions and useful technologies 11/1/22 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/engineered-metamaterials-can-trick-light-and-sound-into-mind-bending-behavior/ Mathematicians Are Trying to ‘Hear’ Shapes—And Reach Higher Dimensions An intriguing question about drums kicked off decades of inquiry 6/8/22 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mathematicians-are-trying-to-lsquo-hear-rsquo-shapes/ HOW BIRDS HEAR BIRDSONG, Fishbein, Adam, May 2022, p.36 birds appear to listen most closely not to the melodies that catch the ears but rather to fine acoustic details in the chips and twangs of their songs that lie beyond the range of human perception. Dawn of the Din, Habib, Michael B, January 2022, p.42 Habib discusses the evolution of animal acoustics which have led to a new understanding of how our modern-day soundscapes came... Moths Have an Acoustic Invisibility Cloak to Stay under Bats' Radar New research finds they fly around on noise-cancelling wings 7/21/21 https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/moths-have-an-acoustic-invisibility-cloak-to-stay-under-bats-radar/ A Few Fixes Could Cut Noise Pollution That Hurts Ocean Animals Redesigning ship propellors and installing acoustic “curtains” could lower the volume on anthropogenic noise that disrupts ocean life 2/23/21 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-few-fixes-could-cut-noise-pollution-that-hurts-ocean-animals/ Earthquake Sounds Could Reveal How Quickly the Ocean Is Warming A new way of measuring the temperature of the seas could fill in gaps left by limited direct monitoring 9/17/20 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earthquake-sounds-could-reveal-how-quickly-the-ocean-is-warming/ Your Skull Shapes Your Hearing The resonant properties of your skull can amplify some frequencies and dampen others—and, in some cases, affect your hearing. 10/17/19 https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/your-skull-shapes-your-hearing/ Trapping the Tiniest Sound Controlling the smallest unit of sound could have applications in quantum information 8/30/19 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trapping-the-tiniest-sound/ more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/shaping-sound/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physics-of-guitar/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cocktail-party-physics/anatomy-of-a-stradivarius/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cocktail-party-physics/a-shot-in-the-dark-the-acoustics-of-gunfire/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/but-seriously/chladni-figures-amazing-resonance-experiment/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-reversed-acoustics/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-physics-of-brasses/