If you happen to be one who loves to eavesdrop, then here is one interesting device that you might be interested in – researchers over at the University of Texas at Austin have managed to come up with an acoustic isolator device. This particular acoustic isolator device allows you to hear what others are saying, and yet it will also prevent them from hearing you. Known as a one-way acoustic circulator, the concept behind this idea is pretty simple despite breaking a basic law of physics along the way, where sound waves travel in one direction and must travel in the opposite direction.
How does the acoustic circulator work? It goes without saying that when you happen to stand in a heavy wind and make an attempt to shout, you can barely hear your voice should the wind itself be strong enough. This is more or less the platform in which the acoustic circulator would work with. Coming in a hexagon shape, the acoustic circulator features a trio of fans that are not too different from those found on a computer.
At each end of the device, you will find ports that contain microphones. These three ports function as “acoustic waveguides,” transmitting sound from one port to another. Whenever the fans are not turned on, sound would travel normally via all three ports. Turn on the fans and direct their airflow, and you will be able to enjoy the science that lets sound travels only in the direction that the fans are turned away from.
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