Sound

Bell X-1 rocket jet plane National Air and Space MuseumIn the Quesst mission, NASA team members are working to break the sound barrier again, but in a much more efficient way that could make it possible for all of us to one day travel as fast as the X-1 pilots did. "That first supersonic flight was such a tremendous achievement, and now you look at how far we've come since then," said Catherine Bahm, an aeronautical engineer at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. "What we're doing now is the culmination of so…

In what’s described as a breakthrough decades in the making, scientists at Oregon State Health & Science University (OHSU) have revealed the inner ear architecture that converts vibrations into sound, in near-atomic detail. The discovery for the first time reveals the molecular machinery behind this fundamental sensory function, and opens up exciting new avenues of research into hearing loss.The ability of the ear to turn vibrations into the sensation of sound is facilitated by an inner structure called the…

An artist’s impression of Betelgeuse’s supernova. Credit: European Southern Observatory/L. CalçadaAstronomers from Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Montpellier have devised an ‘early warning’ system to sound the alert when a massive star is about to end its life in a supernova explosion. The work was published today (October 13, 2022) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.In this new study, investigators determined that massive stars (typically between 8 and 20 solar masses) in the…

Listen to her heart-scouring alt-folk and country ballads about break-ups, breakdowns, toxic relationships and breezy affairs, and Courtney Marie Andrews reads like a lyricist prepared to lay it all on the line in the service of a truthful song. But by her own admission, that openness is at odds with how she comes across the rest of the time.“You know what’s really funny,” Andrews says via video from her home in Nashville, “in my personal life, I’m not very revealing at all. At some point, in my childhood, I clicked that…

This Bose SoundLink Revolve+ portable Bluetooth speaker is the perfect speaker for indoor and outdoor use. Boasting great sound quality and long battery life, the Revolve+ (Series II) is currently just $229 at Amazon instead of $329, it's lowest-ever price.This deal will be live for the next day or so and applies to both colors of the speaker, so move fast!Portable speaker goodness.Bose is a solid, reputable brand for audio accessories, including headphones and speakers. Its products will often be more expensive than…

Google has been kind to us this year. A bunch of its devices, launched previously in the US and other countries, are making their way to Indian shores. Within the past few months, we’ve seen devices like the Pixel 6a (review), Nest Cam with Battery (review), and more recently, Chromecast with Google TV (review). And now, the Google Pixel 7 series smartphones have landed too. Before we check those out in detail, it’s time to take a look at the Pixel Buds Pro, the premium TWS buds that bring along an interesting design and…

Music composer John Powell, who is known for scores of `How to Train Your Dragon`, some `Ice Age` films and `The Road to El Dorado`, has scored the background for the recently released Harry Styles film `Don`t Worry Darling`. The composer shared that the film`s director came with a clean slate to him and the two eventually brainstormed and came up with the soundscape of the movie. Talking to IANS, John said: "Olivia was actually looking for a brief. When I met her she was kind of looking out for the sonic textures that…

Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro have more powerful noise cancellation and better sound quality than the original pair, but the company has also made significant improvements to the charging case. Aside from the new lanyard loop, the case itself now contains a speaker that can emit sounds when you’re trying to track it down using Apple’s Find My app.By default, the case also plays sound effects when you plug it in for charging. Inevitably, some people won’t be a fan of that feature, but thankfully it’s fairly easy to…

Howard Jones, singer-songwriter, musicianI’d tried everything from recording sessions at Manchester Piccadilly Radio at four in the morning to recording an eight-minute version of Bohemian Rhapsody, but had ended up rolling clingfilm in a factory in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The people there were salt of the earth and would chuckle when I’d say: “One day I’ll walk out of here to do my music.”While I was working at the factory my wife, Jan, and I also started a fruit and veg round, but we were losing money every week.…

Of all the gin joints in all the galaxy, Luke Skywalker walked into Mos Eisley Cantina. A wretched hive of villainy where your pint of blue milk might get spilled by some unfriendly bum-faced alien, the tavern is seared into the memory of nearly every sci-fi fan alive thanks to its appearance in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope.But what Mos Eisley lacked in charm it more than made up for in live entertainment, being the regular gig of Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes, perhaps better known simply as the Cantina band – the…