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back to article Coke cans used to build sound-wave 'superlens'

Focused sound waves aren’t just the domain of children fooling around with long-distance microphones. They’re also important in ultrasound machines, and in biomedical laboratories, for “acoustic actuators” using sound to sort cells. Sound focusing has its limits, however – the diffraction limit, roughly one wavelength of the …

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  1. Herby
    Thumb Up

    My kind of research.

    Where do I sign up. I will be more than happy to empty the cans to the proper level. I remove the tabs already, and since the research requires only Coke Classic, I won't need the Coke Zero cans my wife wants me to use.

    Let's go!!

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  2. GloriousVictoryForThePeople

    Defense applications

    I presume this steerable acoustic tech can be used by the Reg Special Projects Bureau for tracking and avoidance of PMS (Paper Missiles from Space)

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  3. Charles Manning

    Ultrasonic version of phased array radar?

    Is this just http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phased_array_ultrasonics?

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    1. Paul Kinsler
      Reply Icon

      nope

      Superlenses rely on amplifying & controlling the (non-propagating) evanescent excitations; phases arrays control propagating waves. Use of propagating (and typically sinusoidal) waves doesn't eneble as tight a focus as the much better localized (typically exponentially decaying) evanescent components.

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    title

    Hmmm, product placement in researcher work now? Couldn't this have just as easily been unbranded "fizzy pop cans"? Or is it something peculiar to the Coke paintwork?

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Hmmm

    Is there any way they could use sound to improve the taste of Coke?

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    <title>

    If they want to repeat the experiment using beer cans, I'm sure I can find time in my busy schedule to assist them ...

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    1. Wize
      Reply Icon

      The original probably was with beer cans...

      ...and was a drunken idea. When it worked, they had to make it look professional.

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Evanescent waves?

    Exactly what is the frequency range of Amy Lee? Bordering on the ultrasonic, in my experience.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      "Exactly what is the frequency range of Amy Lee?"

      Range? No, she only sings in that one note only.

      0 1
  8. TRT Silver badge
    FAIL

    This thread...

    useless without pictures.

    No, seriously. It needs a diagram; my head is fizzing.

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  9. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    Now, that's REAL engineering!!!

    How things are made by sometimes trying what may appear ludicrous.

    Brilliant. 'nuff said.

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  10. Doug Glass
    Go

    Next thing you know ...

    ... they'll be blowing across the mouth of wine bottles, stamping their feet and acting out the love scene from "Deliverance".

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  11. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Boffin

    Not sure if this makes any difference

    But given the wavelength of the sound I'd say this still puts the focus point within 1 wavelength of the front surface of the lens puts it in the near field.

    Not sure if that makes a difference but a focus of 1/12 the wavelength is still *very* impressive.

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  12. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
    Boffin

    I've always wanted to know that

    The 420 Hz resonant frequency of Coke cans, is that a new elReg standard unit?

    Can it be made work with empty Dutch Gold cans? What's the resonant frequency of a Dutch Gold can? .75 of a Coke?

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  13. Disco-Legend-Zeke
    Joke

    420?

    Resinate?

    Where do I sign up?

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  14. Mike Flugennock

    So, what was the test sound they used...?

    Did they test out this array using the sampled sound of someone belching from having drunk enough cans of soda pop to create a 7x7 array?

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  15. Luc Le Blanc
    Alert

    Sound weapon?

    Could this research yield to the sound weapon featured in the Dune movie? A 1x1 matrix would be more portable...

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  16. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Ig Nobel prize in 3..2..1..

    This is pretty clever, presumably it works because of the specific geometry of the cans used.

    Now what would be impressive is if they could make this work with ultrasound, and make a sonic drill that works like the one on "The Core" ...

    Someone on LPF suggested using high power infrared laser diode bars mounted on a spindle and rotated at high RPM with a single large lens in front to make this work, sound plausible?

    The idea here being that as the diode bar spins the light is focussed in a series of slices onto the workpiece so the end result is the same as a single large laser.

    Could also work with a parabolic dish, with the diode bar mounted on the rotating edge facing downwards.

    AC/DC

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