this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2023
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Laser Beams Deflected Off of Nothing but Air for First Time Ever in Breakthrough Patent Pending Process - The Debrief::An international team of scientists report that they have successfully used acoustics to deflect laser beams in an engineering first.

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[–] Subverb 92 points 1 year ago (2 children)

140 decibels. I'm sure some applications exist but it won't be a 3D TV soon.

[–] Slowy 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In an ultrasonic frequency we can’t hear. But your pets and any nearby bats or rodents etc may be upset by it..

[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Can't hear but still cause damage?

[–] Slowy 70 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I didn’t know the answer to this so I looked it up - yes. Over 120 Db can cause damage even if it’s ultrasonic and you can’t hear it. Apparently at 155Db the heat created by the sound wave can be dangerous as well.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Just a small note, it's written dB, small "d", big "B".

"B" is the unit symbol for bel and "d" is the symbol for the SI prefix deci, a tenth.

[–] A_Random_Idiot 13 points 1 year ago

Trust this guy, when it comes to the small d he knows everything about it.

[–] Slowy 8 points 1 year ago

Oops, thanks for the correction!

[–] EthicalAI 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In that case can we use just B. MB, etc.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Oh yes, sure you can, 140 dB is 0.000014 MB. The confusing thing is just that the non-SI unit byte also uses the symbol "B" and uses the SI prefix "M" quite often.

Sometimes when I calculate optical power levels I actually use B in between. For example:

How much signal is 88 optical channels at 1.6 dBm of power each?

0 dBm = 1 mW by definition

1.6 dB = 0.16 B = log10 ( x ) --> x = 10 ^ 0.16 = 1.45

So 1.6 dBm is 1.45 * 1 mW = 1.45 mW

Then 88 channels is 88 * 1.45 mW = 127.60 mW = 127.60 * 1 mW

log10(127.60) = 2.11 B = 21.1 dB

So 127.20 mW is 21.1 dBm, just below the output specification of our amplifier, good, nothing should melt.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yes. Industrial grade ultrasonic sensors are harmful to your health. They can be used, for example, to measure the water level in a tank. If you need to enter a place like that, you should physically disconnect the sensor first. You might not hear much of the noise, but you may feel it in your teeth or some other places.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Weren't there some huge high power sonars that could melt people to goo?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yep, and hurt whales from the pressure.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Oh, so not all bad then

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Loud lightsabers?