FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

SULTAN IDRIS EDUCATION UNIVERSITY

SSI3013
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY IN SCIENCE

ASSIGNMENT 2
DATA LOGGING:
SONAR AND ULTRASOUND EXPERIMENT

NAME AND MATRIX NO. LIM SHIU MAN D20151071000

CHONG XIN YI D20152072021
SHAFIQAH AWATIF BINTI ZAHIR D20152072050
B
GROUP
LECTURER’S NAME ENCIK AZMI BIN IBRAHIM

DATE 26 MARCH 2017

Contents Pages
1. Introduction 1-2
2. Experiment for Sonar and Ultrasound 3-5
3. Application for Sonar and Ultrasound in Real Life 5–9
4. Conclusion 9
5. Reference 10
Introduction

How can you "see" a lake bottom or sea floor if the water is too muddy, too dark, or too deep?
You cannot see it by your naked eyes. But you can "see" it with sound waves, sonar. Sonar or
radar, which is sound navigation and ranging. It is usually used to “see” objects under the water
or use to determine the distance for something. For example, people that go to fish use
simplified forms of sonar, which is known as depth sounders or fish finders to locate fish no
matter how deep the water is and where they are. The depth sounder sends out pulse to measure
the time taken it use to receive a return signal and use the speed of sound in saltwater to
calculate the distance to the object.

Some other example, which is marine scientists, they use side scan sonar to map the
hills and other features of the ocean floor. The sophisticated sonar returns a very detailed
pictures of the objects underwater. This is very helpful in locating submarines, underwater
mines, shipwrecks, or aircraft debris. Sonar also can be use to inspect pipelines, cables, or
bridge foundations.

Some examples of sonar in animals are the sonar of bats and sonar of dolphins. Bats
are a fascinating group of animals. They are one of the few mammals that can use sound to
navigate, a trick called echolocation. Of the some 900 species of bats, more than half rely on
echolocation to detect obstacles in flight, find their way into roosts and forage for food.
Echolocation--the active use of sonar (Sound Navigation And Ranging) along with special
morphological (physical features) and physiological adaptations--allows bats to "see" with
sound. Most bats produce echolocation sounds by contracting their larynx (voice box). A few
species, though, click their tongues. These sounds are generally emitted through the mouth, but
Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) and Old World leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideridae) emit their
echolocation calls through their nostrils where there they have basal fleshy horseshoe or leaf-
like structures that are well-adapted to function as megaphones.

Echolocation calls are usually ultrasonic--ranging in frequency from 20 to 200 kilohertz

(kHz), whereas human hearing normally tops out at around 20 kHz. Even so, we can hear
echolocation clicks from some bats, such as the Spotted bat (Euderma maculatum). These
noises resemble the sounds made by hitting two round pebbles together. In general,
echolocation calls are characterized by their frequency. Their intensity in decibels (dB); and
their duration in milliseconds (ms).In terms of pitch, bats produce echolocation calls with both
constant frequencies (CF calls) and varying frequencies that are frequently modulated (FM

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calls). Most bats produce a complicated sequence of calls, combining CF and FM components.
Although low frequency sound travels further than high-frequency sound, calls at higher
frequencies give the bats more detailed information--such as size, range, position, speed and
direction of a prey's flight. Thus, these sounds are used more often. In terms of loudness, bats
emit calls as low as 50 dB and as high as 120 dB, which is louder than a smoke detector 10
centimeters from your ear. That's not just loud, but damaging to human hearing. The Little
brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) can emit such an intense sound. The good news is that because
this call has an ultrasonic frequency, we are unable to hear it.

The ears and brain cells in bats are especially tuned to the frequencies of the sounds
they emit and the echoes that result. A concentration of receptor cells in their inner ear makes
bats extremely sensitive to frequency changes: Some Horseshoe bats can detect differences as
slight as .000l Khz. For bats to listen to the echoes of their original emissions and not be
temporarily deafened by the intensity of their own calls, the middle ear muscle (called the
stapedius) contracts to separate the three bones there--the malleus, incus and stapes, or hammer,
anvil and stirrup--and reduce the hearing sensitivity. This contraction occurs about 6 ms before
the larynx muscles (called the crycothyroid) begin to contract. The middle ear muscle relaxes
2 to 8 ms later. At this point, the ear is ready to receive the echo of an insect one meter away,
which takes only 6 ms.The external structure of bats' ears also plays an important role in
receiving echoes. The large variation in sizes, shapes, folds and wrinkles are thought to aid in
the reception and funneling of echoes and sounds emitted from prey.

Dolphins too, need echolocation to navigate, locate prey, hunt, protect themselves from
predators in murky waters or where there is no sunlight and to communicate. In fact, in deep
dark waters, their sense of sight is almost nil, but they do not need it because they can detect
and chase fast prey through the emission of sounds. In this sense, the frequencies vary
according to the species, but there are general characteristics in all dolphins. For example, they
always communicate with low-frequency signals, which include whistling or chirping. But they
emit high frequencies when using echolocation. The sounds vary according to the
circumstances and the purpose.

What is known is that dolphins have the ability through echolocation to emit sounds
with a frequency of 120 kHz and humans, with excellent hearing, can hear sounds with
frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Even dogs and cats that have amazing hearing
capabilities do not compare to dolphins. Dogs hear up to 45 kHz, and cats up to 65 kHz.

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However, high-frequency sounds don’t travel very far in the water while Low-frequency
sounds have more energy and can reach greater distances. Most of the time, dolphins will get
the best results with echolocation when the object is from 16 to 656 feet from them. Excessive
noise in the environment should be upsetting for dolphins and can cause them to lose their
hearing over time. It can also disorient them and disrupt their navigation systems.

Experiment for Ultrasound and SONAR

Introduction

As SONAR stands for Sound Navigation and Ranging, it can be defined as system that
delivers sound waves to determine object’s location under the surface of water. As we all know,
sea is so deep and it is hard to explore without knowing the exact depth of the sea. Human
always want to explore the unknown such as what are the look for the organisms in the deep
ocean. However with only light waves, it cannot be done as it cannot reach to the depth zone.
Sunlight can only reach around 200 meters into the sea.

With sonar system, it is used to send sound waves to detect the location and motion of
object. Generally, sound waves that emitted by the sonar system will reflect back once it
reaches the object. Then the sound system will locate the specify object with the time required
for the sound wave to return back to the system.

There are two types of sonar which are active sonar and passive sonar. Active sonar has
a transducer which will emit sound waves into the water and a receptor that can receive waves
that bounced back after detect the objects in the ocean. However with passive sonar, it can only
detect noises or wave from marine objects such as submarine, whales and dolphins without
emits its own signals. With active sonar sensor, the orientation of the objects can be determined
by observing the graph mapping. Meanwhile, for passive sonar, it can only detect the waves
purely without measuring the range or distance from the objects.

Objective

1. To perform an experiment of active sonar system using data logger

2. To determine the distance of the objects in the shallow water using sonar and data
logger

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Hypothesis

The nearer range of the object target, the faster for the data logger to receive reflected pulse.

Procedure

The active sonar and data logger are arranged similarly in the diagram.

Possible result

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Discussion

The first target is more distant whereas the second target is closer based on the data observe.

Application for Ultrasound and Sonar in Real Life

 Active Sonar

Active sonar allows us to actively look for things in the water that may give us information that
we would otherwise not have, whether it be schools of fish, enemy vessels or torpedo, debris
or even the structural integrity of an object that is under water or difficult to access. Passive
sonar is best describing as sensitive listening-only mode to detect the presence of objects
making noise. For ultrasound, it best describes as some acoustic vibrations with frequencies
higher than the human threshold of hearing.

 Ultrasonic

There are numerous practical applications for ultrasonic. The first widespread use was in
underwater exploration. Ultrasonic waves proved to be an excellent method for determining
the depth of water. Ultrasonic also are used to map the shape of lake and ocean floors.
Submarines use ultrasonic waves to maintain secret contact with each other. In industry,
ultrasonic waves have been used in the testing of machinery and machine parts. Using a narrow
beam of ultrasound, engineers can look inside metal parts in much the same way that doctors
use X rays to examine the human body. With ultrasonic technology, flaws in machinery can be
detected and repaired without having to take them apart. Similar ultrasonic methods have been
used to diagnose problems in the human body. As an ultrasonic beam passes through the body,
it encounters different types of tissue such as flesh, bone, and organs. Ultrasonic vibration also
can be used to kill bacteria in milk and other liquids. Some inventors are attempting to perfect
an "ultrasonic laundry," using high-frequency vibrations to shake dirt and other particles out of
clothing. For Echolocation and Navigation, many bat species, as well as dolphins and other
toothed whales, navigate and hunt by ultrasonic echolocation, a process achieved through the
projection and reception of high-frequency pulses. The variation and delay between the
returning sound waves enables the animal to form a long-range mental map of its surroundings.
In bats, the ultrasonic system consists of the larynx, the nose, mouth and ears, while the
dolphin’s system involves the nasal passages; the melon, which is a fatty organ situated on the
dolphin’s forehead; and the jaw bones and inner ears. For Covert Communication, Rats, mice

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and other rodents can communicate with other members of their species through ultrasonic
vocalizations, limiting their chance of detection by certain predators. The melodic calls of the
concave-eared torrent frog and the rufous-faced warbler also contain ultrasonic elements.
Researchers suspect that these particular species have developed this communication
component in part as a result of living near noisy, turbulent streams. Ultrasonic components
have also been detected in the blue-throated hummingbird and the New Zealand rifleman, a
small, wren-like bird so-named because the green of the male’s plumage reminded New
Zealand settlers of an infantry rifleman’s uniform coat. Some of the simplest ultrasonic
applications build on the fact that the upper range of audibility for human beings is relatively
low among animals. Cats, by comparison, have an infrasound threshold only slightly higher
than that of humans (100 Hz), but their ultrasound range of audibility is much greater 32,000
Hz instead of a mere 20,000. This explains why a cat sometimes seems to respond mysteriously
to noises its owner is incapable of hearing.

There are numerous products on the market that use ultrasonic waves for animal
behavior modification of one kind or another; however, most such items are intended to repel
rather than attract the animal. Hence, there are ultrasonic devices to discourage animals from
relieving themselves in the wrong places, as well as some which keep unwanted dogs and cats
away. Then there is one of the most well-known uses of ultrasound for pets, which, rather than
keeping other animals out, is designed to keep one's own animals in the yard. Many people
know this item as an "Invisible Fence," though in fact that term is a registered trademark of the
Invisible Fence Company. The "Invisible Fence" and similar products literally create a barrier
of sound, using both radio signals and ultrasonic. The pet is outfitted with a collar that contains
a radio receiver, and a radio transmitter is placed in some centrally located place on the owner's
property a basement, perhaps, or a garage. The "fence" itself is "visible," though usually buried,
and consists of an antenna wire at the perimeter of the property. The transmitter sends a signal
to the wire, which in turn signals the pet's collar. A tiny computer in the collar emits an
ultrasonic sound if the animal tries to stray beyond the boundaries.

Medicine represents one of the widest areas of application for ultrasound. Though the
machinery used to provide parents-to-be with an image of their unborn child is the most well-
known form of medical ultrasound, it is far from the only one. Developed in 1957 by British
physician Ian Donald (1910-1987), also a pioneer in the use of ultrasonic to detect flaws in
machinery, ultra-sound was first used to diagnosis a patient's heart condition. Within a year,
British hospitals began using it with pregnant women. High-frequency waves penetrate soft

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tissue with ease, but they bounce off of harder tissue such as organs and bones, and thus send
back a message to the transducer. Because each type of tissue absorbs or deflects sound
differently, according to its density, the ultrasound machine can interpret these signals, creating
an image of what it "sees" inside the patient's body. The technician scans the area to be studied
with a series of ultrasonic waves in succession, and this results in the creation of a moving
picture. It is this that creates the sight so memorable in the lives of many a modern parent: their
first glimpse of their child in its mother's womb.

Though ultrasound enables physicians and nurses to determine the child's sex, this is
far from being the only reason it is used. It also gives them data concerning the fetus's size;
position (for instance, if the head is in a place that suggests the baby will have to be delivered
by means of cesarean section); and other abnormalities. The beauty of ultrasound is that it can
provide this information without the danger posed by x rays or incisions. Doctors and
ultrasound technicians use ultrasonic technology to detect body parts as small as 0.004 in (0.1
mm), making it possible to conduct procedures safely, such as locating foreign objects in the
eye or measuring the depth of a severe burn. Furthermore, ultrasonic microscopes can image
cellular structures to within 0.2 microns (0.002 mm).

Ultrasonic heart examination can locate tumors, valve diseases, and accumulations of
fluid. Using the Doppler effect the fact that a sound's perceived frequency changes as its source
moves past the observer physicians observe shifts in the frequency of ultrasonic measurements
to determine the direction of blood flow in the body. Not only can ultrasound be used to
differentiate tumors from healthy tissue, it can sometimes be used to destroy those tumors. In
some cases, ultrasound actually destroys cancer cells, making use of a principle called
cavitation a promising area of ultrasound research.

Perhaps the best example of cavitation occurs when you are boiling a pot of water:
bubbles temporary cavities in the water itself rise up from the bottom to the surface, then
collapse, making a popping sound as they do. Among the research areas combining cavitation
and ultrasonic are studies of light emissions produced in the collapse of a cavity created by an
ultrasonic wave. These emissions are so intense that for an infinitesimal moment, they produce
heat of staggering proportions hotter than the surface of the Sun, some scientists maintain.
(Again, it should be stressed that this occurs during a period too small to measure with any but
the most sophisticated instruments.) As for the use of cavitation in attacking cancer cells,
ultrasonic waves can be used to create microscopic bubbles which, when they collapse, produce

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intense shock waves that destroy the cells. Doctors are now using a similar technique against
gallstones and kidney stones. Other medical uses of ultrasound technology include ultrasonic
heat for treating muscle strain, or in a process similar to some industrial applications the use of
25,000-Hz signals to clean teeth.

 Sports Fishing and Commercial Fishing

Like we mentioned, using sonar in fishing may be one of the most commonly known uses for
the technology. Whether it’s granddad looking for fish in a small pond or large fisheries
searching for city sized schools, sonar is an essential tool in both cases. In fact, the quality of
long range sonar equipment has gotten to a point where it’s so good that it can have profound
effects on ecosystems around the world in that it would facilitate overfishing.

 Water Main Monitoring

Municipalities and water utilities have seen a real return on assessment costs through the use
of acoustic monitoring using sonar. They can now more easily than ever determine the
structural integrity of pipe segments and pinpoint leaks. This has been instrumental in lowering
the costs of maintaining these systems allowing municipalities to better maintain them and
improve their overall water main leak detection procedures.

 Military and Defense

We’ve all seen the movies where the crew of a submarine waits and listens in complete silence
to try to pinpoint the location of enemy vessels before they get destroyed themselves. While
made popular by such scenes, sonar has actual relevant use in the military for just such a
situation. It allows military services to monitor the seas, helping them to know where enemies
may be hiding, while also helping keep their crews safe. There is a system in place in the
northern Atlantic Ocean called the SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System) which is a chain of
underwater listening posts specifically built as a warning system for Russian submarines that
would need to pass through it in order to reach targets further west. These listening posts use
sonar to monitor and track potential enemy movements underwater, which again would have
gone unnoticed without the use of sonar.

Sonar is perhaps the most dramatic use of ultrasonic technology for detection; less well
known but equally intriguing, especially for its connection with clandestine activity is the use
of ultrasonics for electronic eavesdropping. Private detectives, suspicious spouses, and no
doubt international spies from the CIA or Britain's MI5, use ultrasonic waves to listen to

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conversations in places where they cannot insert a microphone. For example, an operative
might want to listen in on an encounter taking place on the seventh floor of a building with
heavy security, meaning it would be impossible to plant a microphone either inside the room
or on the window ledge.

Instead, the operative uses ultrasonic waves, which a transducer beams toward the
window of the room being monitored. If people are speaking inside the room, this will produce
vibrations on the window the transducer can detect, although the sounds would not be
decipherable as conversation by a person with unaided perception. Speech vibrations from
inside produce characteristic effects on the ultrasonic waves beamed back to the transducer and
the operative's monitoring technology. The transducer then converts these reflected vibrations
into electrical signals, which analysts can then reconstruct as intelligible sounds.

Conclusion

Scientists often use ultrasound in research, for instance to break up high molecular weight
polymers, thus creating new plastic materials. Indeed, ultrasound also makes it possible to
determine the molecular weight of liquid polymers, and to conduct other forms of investigation
on the physical properties of materials. Ultrasonic can also speed up certain chemical reactions.
Hence, it has gained application in agriculture, thanks to research which revealed that seeds
subjected to ultrasound may germinate more rapidly and produce higher yields. In addition to
its uses in the dairy industry, noted above, ultrasonic is of value to farmers in the related beef
industry, who use it to measure cows' fat layers before taking them to market.

In contrast to the use of ultrasonic for electronic eavesdropping, as noted earlier, today
ultrasonic technology is available to persons who think someone might be spying on them: now
they can use ultrasonic to detect the presence of electronic eavesdropping, and thus circumvent
it. Closer to home is another promising application of ultrasonic for remote sensing of sounds:
ultrasonic stereo speakers.

In conclusion, sonar is important to help animals such as bats and dolphins to navigate
by sounds waves in order to help them to locate prey, predators or other objects. It is also
important for us to “see” objects under the water or use to determine the distance for something.

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Reference

1. Beiser, Arthur. Physics , 5th ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1991.

2. Langone, John. National Geographic's How Things Work. Washington, D.C.: National
Geographic Society, 1999.
3. MATLAB Examples. Underwater target detection with an active sonar system.
Reviewed from https://www.mathworks.com/examples/phased-
array/mw/phased-ex96453082-underwater-target-detection-with-an-active-
sonar-system
4. Meire, Hylton B. and Pat Farrant. Basic Ultrasound. Chichester, N.Y.: John Wiley &
Sons, 1995.
5. Science Clarified. Ultrasonic – Real – life applications. Reviewed from
http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Physics-Vol-3-Biology-
Vol-1/Ultrasonics-Real-life-applications.html
6. US Department of Commerce – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
What is sonar? Reviewed from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sonar.html

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