Music Is the Weapon of the Future.

January 22, 2010 11:35 PM

Acoustic Levitation. (wiki)

In related news: Sound Kills Humans.

posted by Lutoslawski (9 comments total)

The setup is cheap and can be made with parts easily found online. But the system does have one giant hitch. Because sound is a pressure wave that travels through air, it won’t work where there isn’t any, like on the moon. And it can’t generate enough force to counteract static cling in the thin, low-pressure Martian atmosphere. To work, the dust buster needs to be sealed in an enclosed, pressurized space station.

Which means it can't be used to keep dust off of solar panels on Mars, or on the Moon, or in space, because there will be some sort of window to keep the air in -- and the dust will accumulate outside of that, not inside.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:44 PM on January 22, 2010

It seems like massive overkill to clean a computer keyboard.
posted by Cranberry at 12:03 AM on January 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

this video was a bit more interesting. Since the 'Acoustic levitation' wasn't actual levitation but rather pulling against a magnet.
posted by delmoi at 12:10 AM on January 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

Come on pilgrim.
posted by Elmore at 1:15 AM on January 23, 2010 [2 favorites]

Yeah, levitating sideways is bullshit levitation.

Styrofoam beads, they know where it's at (an inch or so above a speaker)
posted by aubilenon at 3:04 AM on January 23, 2010

For a second I thought it was going to about this video and was prepared to rant but it wasn't so... nevermind.
posted by Memo at 7:26 AM on January 23, 2010

Please tell me Dazzler is in no way involved.
posted by The Whelk at 8:35 AM on January 23, 2010

Give me a break, you can clearly see the stick holding that ball up. And the background music is some kind of '70s theremin techno shit.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 10:21 AM on January 23, 2010

Sonolevitation in another great video, with metal plates. Interview with the artists explaining it.
posted by dnial at 7:02 PM on January 23, 2010 [1 favorite]