Acoustic levitation

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Acoustic levitation

Acoustic levitation is a method for suspending matter in a medium by using acoustic radiation pressure

Acoustic radiation pressure

Acoustic radiation pressure is the difference between the average pressure at a surface moving with the sound displacements and the pressure that would have existed in the fluid of same mean density at rest....
from intense sound

Sound

Sound is vibration transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a threshold of hearing to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations....
waves in the medium. Acoustic levitation

Levitation

Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, without physical contact.It is also a conjuring trick, appearingly raising a human being without any physical aid....
is possible because of the non-linear effects of intense sound waves.

Some methods can levitate objects without creating sound heard by the human ear such as the one demonstrated at Otsuka Lab,, while others produce some audible sound. There are many ways of creating this effect, from creating a wave underneath the object and reflecting it back to its source, to using an acrylic glass

Acrylic glass

Poly poly is a thermoplastic and transparency plastic. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. It is sold by the trade names Plexiglas, Vitroflex, Limacryl, 'R-Cast, 'Per-Clax, 'Perspex, 'Plazcryl, 'Acrylex, 'Acrylite, 'Acrylplast, 'Altuglas, 'Polycast...
tank to create a large acoustic field.

Acoustic levitation is usually used for containerless processing which has become more important of late due to the small size and resistance of microchips and other such things in industry.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Acoustic levitation'

Start a new discussion about 'Acoustic levitation'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Acoustic levitation is a method for suspending matter in a medium by using acoustic radiation pressure
Acoustic radiation pressure

Acoustic radiation pressure is the difference between the average pressure at a surface moving with the sound displacements and the pressure that would have existed in the fluid of same mean density at rest....
from intense sound
Sound

Sound is vibration transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a threshold of hearing to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations....
waves in the medium. Acoustic levitation
Levitation

Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, without physical contact.It is also a conjuring trick, appearingly raising a human being without any physical aid....
is possible because of the non-linear effects of intense sound waves.

Some methods can levitate objects without creating sound heard by the human ear such as the one demonstrated at Otsuka Lab,, while others produce some audible sound. There are many ways of creating this effect, from creating a wave underneath the object and reflecting it back to its source, to using an acrylic glass
Acrylic glass

Poly poly is a thermoplastic and transparency plastic. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. It is sold by the trade names Plexiglas, Vitroflex, Limacryl, 'R-Cast, 'Per-Clax, 'Perspex, 'Plazcryl, 'Acrylex, 'Acrylite, 'Acrylplast, 'Altuglas, 'Polycast...
tank to create a large acoustic field.

Acoustic levitation is usually used for containerless processing which has become more important of late due to the small size and resistance of microchips and other such things in industry. Containerless processing may also be used for applications requiring very high purity materials or chemical reactions too rigorous to happen in a container. This method is harder to control than other methods of containerless processing such as electromagnetic
Electromagnetic

Electromagnetic may refer to:* Electromagnetic radiation* Electromagnetism...
levitation but has the advantage of being able to levitate nonconducting
Electrical conductor

In science and Electrical engineering, an electrical conductor is a material which contains movable electric charges. In metallic conductors, such as copper or aluminum, the movable charged particles are electrons ....
materials.

There is no known limit to what acoustic levitation can lift given enough vibratory sound, but currently the maximum amount that can be lifted by this force is a few kilograms of matter. Acoustic levitators are used mostly in industry and for researchers of anti-gravity
Anti-gravity

Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to countering the gravitational force by an opposing force of a different nature, as a helium balloon does; instead, anti-gravity requires that the fundamental causes of the force of gravity be made either not present or not applic...
effects such as NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
; however some are commercially available to the public.

See also

Electrostatic levitation
Electrostatic levitation

Electrostatic levitation is the process of using an electric field to lift a electric charge object and counteract the effects of gravity. It was used, for instance, in Robert Millikan's oil drop experiment and is used to suspend the gyroscopes in Gravity Probe B during launch....
Magnetic levitation
Magnetic levitation

Magnetic levitation, maglev, or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is levitation with no support other than magnetic fields....
Optical levitation
Optical levitation

Optical levitation is a method developed by Arthur Ashkin whereby a material is levitation against the downward force of gravity by an upward force stemming from photon momentum transfer....
Aerodynamic levitation
Aerodynamic levitation

Aerodynamic levitation is the use of gas pressure to levitate materials so that they are no longer in physical contact with any container. In scientific experiments this removes contamination and nucleation issues associated with physical contact with a container....
Radiation pressure
Radiation pressure

Radiation pressure is the pressure exerted upon any surface exposed to electromagnetic radiation. If absorbed, the pressure is the power flux density divided by the speed of light....
Buoyancy
Buoyancy

In physics, buoyancy is the upward force that keeps things afloat. The net upward buoyancy force is equal to the magnitude of the weight of fluid displaced by the body....

External links