Sonar
device · 1915 · Electric age
Detecting objects by reflected sound (Langevin).
Inventors: Walter Guyton Cady, Paul Langevin.
What it is made of
- Hydrophone — has part. The receiver.
Principles and materials it uses
- Ultrasound — uses. Ultrasonic pulses.
- Piezoelectric effect — uses. Langevin’s transducer is piezoelectric quartz.
- Steel — is made of. The hull is steel.
Where it is used
- Submarine — is part of. Underwater acoustics.
- Destroyer — is part of. Underwater acoustics.
- Minesweeper — is part of. Searching for mines.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Echo sounder — evolved from. Echolocation.
Things built in a similar way
- Radar — works like. The same echolocation principle: sound in water instead of radio waves.
- Ultrasound scanner — works like. A medical sonar: the same echo principle.
- Parking sensor — works like. Echolocation in air.