![]() This could lead to what the researchers call a "unique listening experience" on Mars, with higher-pitched sounds arriving sooner to the listener than lower ones. The result of this is that sound travels more than 10 meters per second faster at higher frequencies than it does at low ones. Chide and his team measured the time between the laser firing and the sound reaching the SuperCam microphone at 2.1 meters altitude, to measure the speed of sound at the surface.Īt frequencies above 240 Hertz, the collision-activated vibrational modes of carbon dioxide molecules do not have enough time to relax, or return to their original state. This came with an excellent benefit, as it turns out. ![]() ![]() The SuperCam microphone was included to record acoustic pressure fluctuations from the rover's laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument as it ablates rock and soil samples at the Martian surface. Fortunately, Perseverance has something unique: microphones that can allow us to hear the sounds of Mars, and a laser that can trigger a perfectly timed noise. That alone means that sound would propagate differently on the red planet.īut the layer of the atmosphere just above the surface, known as the Planetary Boundary Layer, has added complications: During the day, the warming of the surface generates convective updrafts that create strong turbulence.Ĭonventional instruments for testing surface thermal gradients are highly accurate, but can suffer from various interference effects. Mars' atmosphere is a lot more tenuous than Earth's, around 0.020 kg/m 3, compared to about 1.2 kg/m 3 for Earth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |