Laser Beams Deflected Off of Nothing but Air for First Time Ever in Breakthrough Patent Pending Process - The Debrief::An international team of scientists report that they have successfully used acoustics to deflect laser beams in an engineering first.

    • Slowy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I didn’t know the answer to this so I looked it up - yes. Over 120 Db can cause damage even if it’s ultrasonic and you can’t hear it. Apparently at 155Db the heat created by the sound wave can be dangerous as well.

      • Kazumara@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Just a small note, it’s written dB, small “d”, big “B”.

        “B” is the unit symbol for bel and “d” is the symbol for the SI prefix deci, a tenth.

          • Kazumara@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            Oh yes, sure you can, 140 dB is 0.000014 MB. The confusing thing is just that the non-SI unit byte also uses the symbol “B” and uses the SI prefix “M” quite often.

            Sometimes when I calculate optical power levels I actually use B in between. For example:

            How much signal is 88 optical channels at 1.6 dBm of power each?

            0 dBm = 1 mW by definition

            1.6 dB = 0.16 B = log10 ( x ) --> x = 10 ^ 0.16 = 1.45

            So 1.6 dBm is 1.45 * 1 mW = 1.45 mW

            Then 88 channels is 88 * 1.45 mW = 127.60 mW = 127.60 * 1 mW

            log10(127.60) = 2.11 B = 21.1 dB

            So 127.20 mW is 21.1 dBm, just below the output specification of our amplifier, good, nothing should melt.

    • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Yes. Industrial grade ultrasonic sensors are harmful to your health. They can be used, for example, to measure the water level in a tank. If you need to enter a place like that, you should physically disconnect the sensor first.