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Article ID: CBB001320843

An Acoustic Arms Race (2013)

Conner, William E. (Author)

American Scientist
Volume: 101
Pages: 202--209
Publication date: 2013
Language: English

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Sonar Science and war; science and the military Animal behavior Bats Waves Radar Acoustics Submarines Ships and shipbuilding Visual perception Visual representation; visual communication Physics Echolocation 20th century, late 20th century, early

The development of human-designed sonar predates the development of radar by some 30 years, but it too was a technological response to weapons of warfare, specifically the submarines of World War I. The first devices were passive-listening arrays of underwater microphones (or hydrophones) developed for Germán ships such as the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which could both detect the sounds of approaching torpedoes and target distant ships. The sinking of the Titanic likewise spurred the development of sonar because the technology could also detect icebergs in darkness and fog. The years between the two world wars saw the development of active listening, or true sonar. By the beginning of World War ? most U.S. and British warships carried antisubmarine sonar. Researchers studying biological sonar and human-produced devices frequently crossed paths. Sir Hiram Maxim, a prolific American-British inventor of the early 20th century, proposed developing a batlike system to protect oceangoing ships from collisions. Unfortunately, knowledge of bat echolocation was rudimentary at the time, and he failed to produce a functional device. Maxim thought that bats were using lowfrequency signals produced by their flapping wings to orient themselves. George Washington Pierce - who took a leave of absence from the physics department at Harvard University to work in the Anti-Submarine Laboratory of the U.S. Navy at New London, Connecticut - later assisted Harvard zoologist Donald Griffin in determining the true nature of bat echolocation. Pierce developed a microphone based on piezoelectric materials (which produce electricity in response to mechanical stress) that allowed Griffin to be the first to record the ultrasonic cries of bats, which form the basis of their echolocation system. [from article]

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Description On the development of radar and sonar.

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