Sound shifters!

Researchers at Duke University have developed 3-D printed metamaterials that can control sound waves with high efficiency. These materials manipulate sound not through their plastic properties but through their unique shapes and the space around them. The metamaterials resonate at different frequencies, affecting sound wave speed and direction. This technology could enhance applications like sonar by controlling sound waves in water.

What unique properties of metamaterials allow them to control sound waves?

How does the shape of the metamaterial affect the transmission and reflection of sound waves?

Explain the analogy of blowing air across a glass bottle in relation to sound wave manipulation.

What is the significance of the cavities resonating at their prescribed frequency?

How do researchers hope to apply their findings on sound wave manipulation in water?