(Press-News.org) Long-term exposure to low-frequency noise can cause numerous health problems, but the solution may be found in an unexpected object, a pingpong ball. Conventionally thought of as the hollow plastic balls that speed through the air during a fast-tempo game of table tennis, with a few modifications, pingpong balls can help absorb the city din.
Low-frequency noise is ubiquitous in cities, near roads, and by airports. Though potentially heard as background in the acoustic landscape, it can trigger earaches, respiratory impairment, irritability, and other long-term adverse effects. Because it is produced by a range of sources and is less affected by structures than higher-frequency sound, low-frequency noise can be challenging to avoid.
In Journal of Applied Physics, from AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Lille and the National Technical University of Athens describe an acoustic metasurface that uses pingpong balls as Helmholtz resonators to create inexpensive but effective low-frequency sound insulation.
“Pingpong balls are well-known, everyday objects, present in large numbers all over the world,” said author Robine Sabat. “Our motivation was to use these easily accessible objects to create a low-frequency insulating panel structure. Pingpong balls therefore present an economical alternative to acoustic insulators for both low cost and potential recycling.”
Acoustic metasurfaces are materials specially engineered to manipulate sound waves. This metasurface uses hollow pingpong balls with small holes punctured in each, modeling Helmholtz resonators.
“The Helmholtz resonator has the unique ability to capture ambient sound waves precisely at its natural frequency and can be represented as cavities connected to their environment via a narrow neck,” Sabat said. “The originality of the work was to consider the effect of the coupling between two resonators, leading to the occurrence of two resonance frequencies.”
More resonant frequencies meant the device was able to absorb more sound. At the success of two coupled resonators, the researchers added more, until their device resembled a square sheet of punctured pingpong balls, multiplying the number of resonant frequencies that could be absorbed.
By adjusting the number of balls, number of holes, and hole size, the researchers could change the metasurface’s acoustic properties, proving it is possible to design a sound absorption panel without expensive materials.
“The potential of this metasurface extends beyond sound insulation,” said Sabat. “It can be broadened to achieve various functions similar to other metasurfaces. These functionalities encompass sound focusing, unconventional sound reflection, sound transmission manipulation, and more.”
###
The article “Low frequency sound isolation by a metasurface of Helmholtz ping-pong ball resonators” is authored by Robine Sabat, Eric Cochin, Moris Kalderon, Gaëtan Lévêque, Ioannis Antonios Antoniadis, Bahram Djafari-Rouhani, and Yan Pennec. It will appear in Journal of Applied Physics on Oct. 10, 2023 (DOI: 10.1063/5.0160267). After that date, it can be accessed at https://www.doi.org/10.1063/5.0160267.
ABOUT THE JOURNAL
Journal of Applied Physics is an influential international journal publishing significant new experimental and theoretical results in all areas of applied physics. See https://aip.scitation.org/journal/jap.
###
END
Pingpong balls score big as sound absorbers
Low-frequency noise is bad for health, but a pingpong ball acoustic metasurface can stop it
2023-10-10
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Postsurgery memory impairment in middle-aged Chinese patients
2023-10-10
About The Study: This study of middle-aged Chinese surgery patients found subjective cognitive and short-term memory impairment within 12 months after both cardiac and noncardiac surgery, with multiple identified risk factors, underscoring the potential of preoperative psychological interventions and optimized perioperative management for postoperative cognitive impairment prevention.
Authors: Huan Song, M.D., Ph.D., and Qian Li, M.D., of Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, are the corresponding authors.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...
Use of prenatal telehealth in the first year of the pandemic
2023-10-10
About The Study: This cross-sectional study found that most survey respondents who gave birth between June and December 2020 did not use prenatal telehealth, and a personal preference for in-person care was the most common reason. Patients’ preferences should influence how prenatal telehealth, which has both benefits and drawbacks, is incorporated into their care.
Authors: Rebecca A. Gourevitch, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland in College Park, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi: ...
Titanium oxide material can remove toxic dyes from wastewater
2023-10-10
Discharged in large quantities by textile, cosmetic, ink, paper and other manufacturers, dyes carry high-toxicity and can bring potential carcinogens to wastewater. It’s a major concern for wastewater treatment—but researchers in Drexel University’s College of Engineering may have found a solution, using a tiny nanofilament.
A study lead Michel Barsoum, Ph.D., Distinguished University professor in the College of Engineering, and his team, including researchers from Drexel’s College of Arts and Sciences, found that a ...
Role of methylation in vernalization and photoperiod pathway: a potential flowering regulator?
2023-10-10
Recognized as a pivotal developmental transition, flowering marks the continuation of a plant's lifecycle. Flowering time determines the length of plant reproductive period and environmental adaptability. The correct flowering time is very significant for plants to reproduce fruit successfully and is controlled by environment and endogenous signals. Vernalization and photoperiod are the two main flowering pathways orchestrating a large number of floral signals. Methylation is one of the most important epigenetic modifications, which is involved in many key plant growth and development events. Methylation, including histone methylation, DNA methylation ...
Wireless, battery-free electronic ‘stickers’ gauge forces between touching objects
2023-10-10
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed electronic “stickers” that measure the force exerted by one object upon another. The force stickers are wireless, run without batteries and fit in tight spaces. That makes them versatile for a wide range of applications, from arming robots with a sense of touch to elevating the immersive experience of VR and AR, making biomedical devices smarter, monitoring the safety of industrial equipment, and improving the accuracy and efficiency of inventory management in warehouses.
They could be used, for example, in knee implants to measure the forces that implants exert on the joint. ...
How to cope when your values clash with your co-workers’
2023-10-10
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In our increasingly polarized society, more people may find themselves in a workplace where they are one of the few conservatives or few liberals around.
A new study found that those whose values – political or otherwise – don’t match the majority in their organization felt they received less respect and as a result were less engaged at work. Moreover, their co-workers noticed their lack of engagement.
“It is a real issue that organizations face,” said Tracy Dumas, lead author of the study and associate professor of management and human resources at The Ohio State University’s ...
Source of electron acceleration and X-ray aurora of Mercury ̶ local chorus waves detected
2023-10-10
Background
Since Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun among the solar system planets, it is strongly influenced by the solar wind, a high-speed (several hundred km/s) stream of plasma blowing from the Sun. Explorations of Mercury was first carried out by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974 and 1975, which revealed that Mercury has a magnetic field, and thus a magnetosphere, similar to that of Earth. In the 2000s, the MESSENGER spacecraft provided a detailed picture of the Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere, and revealed that Mercury's magnetic field center is shifted northward from the planet’s center by approximately ...
NIH provides $1.2 million for ambitious effort to battle antibiotic resistance
2023-10-10
University of Virginia researchers are working to outrace two dangerous germs known for quickly developing resistance to new antibiotics – and the scientists’ efforts could help us better combat antibiotic resistance more broadly.
A team led by Jason Papin, PhD, is developing sophisticated computer models of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, two multi-drug resistant bacteria that infect thousands of Americans every year. The researchers will use their models to better understand the cellular processes and gene activity that make the bacteria ...
Researchers test large language model that preserves patient privacy
2023-10-10
OAK BROOK, Ill. – Locally run large language models (LLMs) may be a feasible option for extracting data from text-based radiology reports while preserving patient privacy, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIH CC) published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). LLMs are deep-learning models trained to understand and generate text in a human-like way.
Recently released LLM models such as ChatGPT and GPT-4 have garnered attention. However, they are not compatible with healthcare data due to privacy constraints.
“ChatGPT and GPT-4 are proprietary models that require the user ...
DNA aptamer finds novel application in regulating cell differentiation
2023-10-10
Generating specific cell lineages from induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells is the holy grail of regenerative medicine. Guiding iPSCs toward a target cell line has garnered much attention, but the process remains challenging. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered that an anti-nucleolin DNA aptamer, iSN04, can determine a cell’s lineage during differentiation. By demonstrating the generation of cardiomyocytes from murine pluripotent stem cells, their concept shows promise as a regenerative therapy.
Self-renewal ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Destination Earth digital twin to improve AI climate and weather predictions
Late-breaking study finds comparable long-term survival between two leading multi-arterial CABG strategies
Lymph node examination should be expanded to accurately assess cancer spread in patients with lung cancer
Study examines prediction of surgical risk in growing population of adults with congenital heart disease
Novel radiation therapy QA method: Monte Carlo simulation meets deep learning for fast, accurate epid transmission dose generation
A 100-fold leap into the unknown: a new search for muonium conversion into antimuonium
A new approach to chiral α-amino acid synthesis - photo-driven nitrogen heterocyclic carbene catalyzed highly enantioselective radical α-amino esterification
Physics-defying discovery sheds new light on how cells move
Institute for Data Science in Oncology announces new focus-area lead for advancing data science to reduce public cancer burden
Mapping the urban breath
Waste neem seeds become high-performance heat batteries for clean energy storage
Scientists map the “physical genome” of biochar to guide next generation carbon materials
Mobile ‘endoscopy on wheels’ brings lifesaving GI care to rural South Africa
Taming tumor chaos: Brown University Health researchers uncover key to improving glioblastoma treatment
Researchers enable microorganisms to build molecules with light
Laws to keep guns away from distressed individuals reduce suicides
Study shows how local business benefits from city services
RNA therapy may be a solution for infant hydrocephalus
Global Virus Network statement on Nipah virus outbreak
A new molecular atlas of tau enables precision diagnostics and drug targeting across neurodegenerative diseases
Trends in US live births by race and ethnicity, 2016-2024
Sex and all-cause mortality in the US, 1999 to 2019
Nasal vaccine combats bird flu infection in rodents
Sepsis study IDs simple ways to save lives in Africa
“Go Red. Shop with Heart.” to save women’s lives and support heart health this February
Korea University College of Medicine successfully concludes the 2025 Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship on Infectious Disease Specialists Program
Girls are happiest at school – for good reasons
Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine discover genetic ancestry is a critical component of assessing head and neck cancerous tumors
Can desert sand be used to build houses and roads?
New species of ladybird beetle discovered on Kyushu University campus
[Press-News.org] Pingpong balls score big as sound absorbersLow-frequency noise is bad for health, but a pingpong ball acoustic metasurface can stop it