Acoustic Wavefronts in Crystalline Solids

SEP 01, 1995

New imaging techniques have made possible the first observations of vibrational wavefronts from point sources, providing insight into the propagation and interference of acoustic waves in solids.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881474

James P. Wolfe

Drop a pebble into a pond and the result is quite predictable: A circular wave expands out from the disturbance. Similarly, sound waves in the atmosphere radiate spherically from a point source. Vibrational waves in a solid medium, however, exhibit a much more intriguing behavior.

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More about the authors

James P. Wolfe, University of Illinois, Urbana‐Champaign.