The student is expected to describe the role of wave characteristics and behaviors in medical and industrial applications.
All waves share some basic characteristics and behaviors. These wave behaviors such as diffraction, refraction, and reflection make them useful in medicine and industry for non-intrusive imaging producing minimal damage to the object.
Vibrating sound waves can be used for industrial cleaning of such things as jewelry or the medical cleaning of teeth.
Ultrasound is used for both medical applications and industrial applications to produce images using harmless sound waves.
Natural and man-made seismic waves can be used to study the interior of the Earth.
Waves can carry information over long distances. For example, radio waves carry information through either changing amplitude or frequency.
Resonance is a wave property used in MRI scans to find tumors.
Use of Waves in Medicine
X-Ray Images: In nature, a wave is a basic kind of motion. All waves share some basic properties and behaviors whether they are mechanical waves or electromagnetic waves. Wave behaviors such as diffraction, refraction, and reflection make them useful in the medicine industry for non-intrusive imaging, producing minimal damage to objects. Non-intrusive means noninvasive, and it provides real-time diagnostics in vivo, without destroying the live organism.
MRI Imaging: Resonance is a wave property used in MRI scans to find tumors. Resonance is a kind of oscillation, which presents maximum vibrating amplitude at a certain frequency. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. It is a technology that transmits radio waves and uses a magnetic field to create images of organs and tissues inside the body. This technique can produce much better images than other imaging techniques including X-rays and CT (computerized tomography) for soft tissues such as the brain, heart, and tumors. Furthermore, the non-invasive property of MRI makes it popular and widely accepted in the medical field.
Ultrasound: Ultrasounds are used for both medical applications and industrial applications to produce images using harmless sound waves. The Ultrasound B-mode is utilized to study stages of pregnancy, such as how the baby grows. This non-intrusive technique makes the non-destructive diagnosis possible.
Use of Waves in Industry
Seismic Mapping: In the petroleum industry detecting where oil is can be a challenge. Because of the particular properties of waves, they can be identified and used for specific purposes, such as using the speed of waves through Earth to determine the interior composition. One of the methods widely applied in the geology industry is to make use of sound waves. Air guns carried by ships send sound waves into the sea and receivers can detect corresponding waves reflected from the rocks as well as other geological structures at the bottom of the sea. This is how seismic images are formed.
For Cleaning: The higher the frequency is, the stronger the penetration ability of a wave will be. Vibrating sound waves can be used for industrial cleaning of objects such as jewelry or medical cleaning of teeth. By adjusting the wave amplitude and its frequency, the dirt and plaque on jewelry or teeth can be removed gradually.
For Communicating: Waves can carry information over very long distances. The distance the waves can travel determines how far the information can be carried. NASA sends space shuttles to outer space and communicates with astronauts through electromagnetic waves, which travels hundreds of thousands of miles in space.
For Transmitting Information: Movie images are reflected off movie screens. When polarized wave images are used, movies can be transmitted in 3D. Radio waves are reflected from satellites for GPS. Fiber optic tubes have internal reflections that transmit audiovisual information.
For Calculating Speed or Location: GPS satellites use the Doppler Effect of waves to calculate locations. Sonar systems also rely on the Doppler Effect to calculate speed and location.