Scientists Create Sound That Can Curve Through a Crowd and Reach Just One Person

Consider, for your listening pleasure, the next frontier in sonic miracles: so-called "audible enclaves," where only you can hear a sound without disturbing anyone else in open space — no headphones required. As developed by a team of researchers at Penn State, whose findings are published as study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this technology can create pockets of sound isolated from their surroundings that can be targeted at a specific location, potentially picking someone out in the middle of a crowd. Crucially, the sound waves — specifically, ultrasound waves — used to create the audible enclaves can't be heard along the path they travel and can even be bent to avoid obstacles. Only when they reach their destination are the sound waves picked up by human ears. "We essentially created a virtual headset," said lead author Jiaxin Zhong, an acoustics researcher at Penn State, in a statement about the work. "Someone within an audible enclave can hear ... Read full article.