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In Research Seminar, we each investigate and work our own topic for the science fair. I am working on improving an underwater speaker which could be used for pools or even maybe for scubadivers for communication. I will post my work as soon as i get more information and this topic is approved. The topic being explored is Underwater Speakers . The plan is to use a reverse engineering method to create a speaker according to certain specifications. .How can an underwater speaker be modified so that it is energy efficient and powerful enough to hear while swimming?. The qualifications for the speaker should be made so that they are less expensive, making them available to private pool owners. It seems as if existing underwater speakers weren.t adjusted enough to be heard by using sufficient power, which enables humans to hear while swimming. The plan to construct an underwater speaker consists of many steps. To begin, one will have to research topics such as underwater acoustics, sound, water resistant materials and speakers. Researching underwater acoustics and sound will help in the understanding of the difference between sound travel through air and sound travel through water. Research in water resistant materials will be beneficial to find a way to waterproof a speaker. This particular background information is needed to find alternative parts of a regular loudspeaker to use in an underwater speaker. Since underwater speakers are so new and unexplored there are few, close to none, available background plans for one, but there are two patents out. By using plans from a regular speaker, changes can be made to adapt to the water and to my specific specifications. Materials that are water-resistant are needed to build the speaker since some materials used for making normal loudspeakers such as the cone are usually made out of paper material, which would not survive for long underwater. Once a basic plan for a speaker is found the other research topics can be a big help to building the speaker to the specifications. An understanding of underwater acoustics, sound and speakers will be beneficial in convincing a URI professor, specializing in oceanography, to lend an underwater speaker if he is liable to do so and provide an area to perform the experimentations on the speaker. The next step is to begin to construct a speaker using waterproof materials and rust proof materials that will work when put together. A hydrophone could be used so that listeners can hear what the underwater speaker sounds like in the water without actually being in the water. Plans to construct a hydrophone can be found on one of the University of Rhode Island.s oceanography websites. Keeping these steps will help to stay organized and on topic. There are no concrete plans to construct the speaker, the project consists of trial and error steps to maintain a working prototype. The materials needed as of now are listed below: Materials (speaker) Crossover Woofer Tweeter L-Pads Port tube Damping Material (I plan on deciding on additional parts as the project progresses depending on the need and I will decide on the power needed of each.) Materials (hydrophone) Condenser Microphone Element** Audio Cable, 2 conductors (#24) plus shield 25+ feet Two conductor, 1/8" mono phone plug Mini Audio Amplifier/Speaker Black tape, rubber electrical Battery holder, fits 1 "C" cell Battery, "C" cell, Alkaline 3 ft Wire, Insulated, #24. 1 ft of orange, white, blue35mm plastic film canister 1/4c Vegetable or mineral oil 9V battery for amplifier/speaker Soldering iron and solder Wire stripper Silicone Seal Bibliography Borwick, John (1994) Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook Crocker, Malcolm J. (1998) Handbook of Acoustics (Chapter 13) Healy, Gene (1996) The Audiophile Loudspeaker Disclaimer: University of Rhode Island; last updated: June 26,2003. Retrieved August 13,2003, from World Wide Web http://www.gso.uri.edu/outreach/index.html Harris, Tom (1998-2003 HowStuffWorksInc.) Retrieved September 30, 2003, From World Wide Web: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/speaker.htm Truax, Barry (Cambridge Street publishing 1999) Retrieved for the World Wide Web http://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/index.html
Copyright © 2003, Jennifer Thompson Massachusetts Academy Of Mathematics and Science Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Email: jthompso@wpi.edu Revised: 12-17-2003 |