[McCrum- 112]
Damping
- If you hit a pipe with a metal baseball bat, you hear a ringing
sound, as the acoustic waves continue to resonate back and forth
through the pipe.
- If you hit a plastic pipe with the same baseball bat, you hear
a dull "thud" that is quickly over. Polymers dissipate the acoustic
wave energy much quicker, and are thus said to have a greater
"damping" ability.
- Constructing a boat out of plastic is good for this reason, because
you don't want a boat to transmit acoustic waves into the sea because
that could interfere with the acoustic depth finder. Also, there will
be less noise
from the sea transmitting through the hull, and into the interior of the
boat.
Last Update- June 29, 1995- wld