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SOUND WAVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(acoustics) a wave that transmits sound
Synonyms:
acoustic wave; sound wave
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("sound wave" is a kind of...):
undulation; wave ((physics) a movement up and down or back and forth)
Domain category:
acoustics (the study of the physical properties of sound)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sound wave"):
air wave (a sound wave that is transmitted via air)
Context examples:
It can be caused by chemical or physical means (for example, strong detergents or high-energy sound waves) or by infection with a strain virus that can lyse cells.
(Cytolytic Process, NCI Dictionary)
A procedure that uses sound waves to measure characteristics of disturbed bood flow, such as direction, velocity and turbulence.
(Doppler Echocardiography, NCI Thesaurus)
Based on the characteristics of sound waves transmitted through the atmosphere, scientists can monitor and study the evolution of volcanoes right up until eruptions—and from a safe distance.
(Listen to the pulse of an erupting volcano, NSF)
As the sound waves propagate, they trap the electrons, pushing them through the device in a very precise way, as if the electrons are ‘surfing’ on the sound waves.
(Quantum state of single electrons controlled by ‘surfing’ on sound waves, University of Cambridge)
High-energy sound waves from the transducer bounce off tissues and create echoes.
(Abdominal ultrasound, NCI Dictionary)
Imaging uses methods such as x-rays (high-energy radiation), ultrasound (high-energy sound waves), and radio waves.
(Imaging, NCI Dictionary)
The bubble then drives oscillations of the water surface at the bottom of the cavity, acting like a piston driving sound waves into the air.
(What causes the sound of a dripping tap – and how do you stop it?, University of Cambridge)
Gravity waves are much like how a guitar string moves when plucked, while acoustic waves are compressions of the air (sound waves).
(Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Likely a Massive Heat Source, NASA)
A probe at the end of the endoscope is used to bounce high-energy sound waves (ultrasound) off internal organs to make a picture (sonogram).
(Endoscopic ultrasound, NCI Dictionary)
Vibrations from sound waves cause these hair cells to move up and down and create an electrical signal that travels to the brain.
(Protein involved in hearing loss recovery, NIH)
