William Sansome Tucker

Last updated

Major William Sansome Tucker OBE [1] (1877 Kidderminster, Worcestershire - 1955 Guelph, Ontario, Canada) [2] was an English pioneer in acoustical research and inventor of the acoustic mirror [3]

Contents

Early life

Tucker was born in Kidderminster, the son of William Tucker, an artist painter, and his wife Anna. Tucker married in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Lancashire, in 1906.

Career

Tucker lectured on physics in London. Following the outbreak of World War I, Tucker joined the British Army as a private soldier. He was posted to the Experimental Sound Ranging Station at Kemmel Hill in Belgium which was under the command of Lawrence Bragg. [4] As part of the London Electrical Engineers, Territorial Force, Tucker was granted a commission, being promoted from lance corporal to temporary second lieutenant, General List in April 1916. [5]

At Kemmel Hill, Tucker undertook research into 'sound ranging': the process of using microphones and mathematics to determine the position of enemy artillery. Bragg had been wracked by doubts and problems with the military command structure. Tucker formed an experimental sound ranging section, which spearheaded the development of an effective system of sound ranging enemy guns. Vital to the success was Tucker's invention of a 'hot wire' microphone, capable of identifying the shell sound wave and the following report of the gun that fired it. The breakthrough had come from Bragg, who found that the water closet at the farmhouse where he was billeted, allowed him, once seated inside, to detect sound and pressure differences of shell waves and gun waves as they passed overhead. [6]

Tucker researched how to cool platinum wire with the air currents caused by the sound-waves they were detecting. Mouse-holes and rum jars provided a clue here, as there were two mouse-holes by Tucker's bed and he noticed a draught of cool air whenever the gun-wave arrived. Tucker devised a microphone consisting of a thin, electrically heated wire, stretched over a small hole in a container (he used rum jars, but the low-frequency acoustic resonance of wooden ammunition boxes, forming a Helmholtz resonator, was soon found to give better results). [7] [8] The decrease in the electrical resistance of the wire as the gun-wave struck was recorded by a Wheatstone bridge and galvanometer. [6]

Tucker had to send for platinum wire to be delivered to him at Kemmel Hill, before he could run trials. The rapid oscillations of the shell waves had almost no effect on the wire, whilst the gun-reports resulted in well-defined 'breaks' on the 35mm cine film used to record the oscillations, due to the deflection of the wire by the pressure of the gun wave. By September 1916, Tucker's new microphones had been supplied to all sound-ranging sections. [6]

In 1917, sound-ranging was further developed so that allowances could be made for poor weather conditions, as sudden gusts of wind could cool the wire: the most effective method found was to wrap the devices in several layers of camouflage netting. [8] Tucker developed a system of moveable microphones to improve detection techniques, allowing for a high degree of accuracy in determining the position of the enemy guns. By the end of the war it was possible to determine where the gun was pointing, and how large it was. The technique could also be extended to listen out for enemy aircraft; as a result, Tucker became Director of Acoustical Research, Air Defence Experimental Establishment, Biggin Hill.

His work eventually led to vast parabolic 'sound mirrors' being constructed from concrete. Some of these sound mirrors still survive along England's south coast, such as those to be found at Denge, near Dungeness, to the west side of a lake slightly north of Lydd-on-Sea, and others uncovered in 2014 at Fan Bay near Dover. [9] Tucker's work was superseded by the development of radar, which made sound-ranging using the great concrete mirrors obsolete. Some known locations for the sound mirrors were documented in a series of photographs by Joe Pettet-Smith in 2018. [10]

Continuing Application of Tucker’s Work

Tucker's excellent paper at Reference [7] had relevance beyond the close of WW1, &WW2. Typically in Gun Sound Ranging, systems of up to 6 spaced microphones were connected to a Command Post, by individual cables. In battlefield scenarios such as those in WW1 particularly, these long field cables were vulnerable to damage, hence time was taken up affecting repairs when at all possible, in order to maintain an effective location service. In Britain in the 1960s, a sound-ranging system was devised using radio links in place of the cables, and also replacing the hot-wire microphones with robust microphones of wider sonic bandwidth. The system was much easier to deploy and maintain than that with cable links. This location system provided a choice between two signal outputs at the Command Post, one for feeding the then currently in-service recorders, the other for the provision of anticipated processors of wider sonic frequency-range. The optimum response for the in-service recorders was achieved by filtering the wider band received detections, so as to remove unwanted lower frequencies such as sounds arising from wind noise, and to reduce the clutter stemming from higher frequency noise. The electronic output-filter in this system was designed to follow a frequency response similar to that of Tucker's Helmholtz Resonator, the details of which are identified in his impressive paper. This provided the optimum frequency response for gun location in the field, as confirmed during a series of trials. This ‘wireless’ sound ranging system was developed and manufactured by The Plessey Company Ltd. at Ilford. As to usage in more recent times, in practice the nature of the terrain may be a factor in determining the choice between location of guns by sound ranging, or by radar. This brief entry augments the Wikipedia article "Artillery Sound Ranging".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonar</span> Acoustic sensing method

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on or under the surface of the water, such as other vessels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loudspeaker</span> Converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound

A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A speaker system, also often simply referred to as a speaker or loudspeaker, comprises one or more such speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections possibly including a crossover network. The speaker driver can be viewed as a linear motor attached to a diaphragm which couples that motor's movement to motion of air, that is, sound. An audio signal, typically from a microphone, recording, or radio broadcast, is amplified electronically to a power level capable of driving that motor in order to reproduce the sound corresponding to the original unamplified electronic signal. This is thus the opposite function to the microphone; indeed the dynamic speaker driver, by far the most common type, is a linear motor in the same basic configuration as the dynamic microphone which uses such a motor in reverse, as a generator.

A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potential when subjected to a pressure change, such as a sound wave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microphone</span> Device that converts sound into an electrical signal

A microphone, colloquially called a mic, or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, sound recording, two-way radios, megaphones, and radio and television broadcasting. They are also used in computers and other electronic devices, such as mobile phones, for recording sounds, speech recognition, VoIP, and other purposes, such as ultrasonic sensors or knock sensors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundproofing</span> Methods to reduce sound pressure

Soundproofing is any means of impeding sound propagation. There are several basic ways to reduce sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, decoupling, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using damping structures such as sound baffles for absorption, or using active antinoise sound generators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resonator</span> Device or system that exhibits resonance

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical. Resonators are used to either generate waves of specific frequencies or to select specific frequencies from a signal. Musical instruments use acoustic resonators that produce sound waves of specific tones. Another example is quartz crystals used in electronic devices such as radio transmitters and quartz watches to produce oscillations of very precise frequency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acoustic mirror</span> Passive sound reflection device

An acoustic mirror is a passive device used to reflect and focus (concentrate) sound waves. Parabolic acoustic mirrors are widely used in parabolic microphones to pick up sound from great distances, employed in surveillance and reporting of outdoor sporting events. Pairs of large parabolic acoustic mirrors which function as "whisper galleries" are displayed in science museums to demonstrate sound focusing.

Acoustic homing is the process in which a system uses the sound or acoustic signals of a target or destination to guide a moving object. There are two types of acoustic homing: passive acoustic homing and active acoustic homing. Objects using passive acoustic homing rely on detecting acoustic emissions produced by the target. Conversely, objects using active acoustic homing make use of sonar to emit a signal and detect its reflection off the target. The signal detected is then processed by the system to determine the proper response for the object. Acoustic homing is useful for applications where other forms of navigation and tracking can be ineffective. It is commonly used in environments where radio or GPS signals can not be detected, such as underwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pickup (music technology)</span> Captures vibrations produced by musical instruments

A pickup is a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, and converts these to an electrical signal that is amplified using an instrument amplifier to produce musical sounds through a loudspeaker in a speaker enclosure. The signal from a pickup can also be recorded directly.

Musical acoustics or music acoustics is a multidisciplinary field that combines knowledge from physics, psychophysics, organology, physiology, music theory, ethnomusicology, signal processing and instrument building, among other disciplines. As a branch of acoustics, it is concerned with researching and describing the physics of music – how sounds are employed to make music. Examples of areas of study are the function of musical instruments, the human voice, computer analysis of melody, and in the clinical use of music in music therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmholtz resonance</span> Phenomenon of air resonance in a cavity

Helmholtz resonance, also known as wind throb, refers to the phenomenon of air resonance in a cavity, an effect named after the German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz. This type of resonance occurs when air is forced in and out of a cavity, causing the air inside to vibrate at a specific natural frequency. The principle is widely observable in everyday life, notably when blowing across the top of a bottle, resulting in a resonant tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acoustic location</span> Use of reflected sound waves to locate objects

Acoustic location is a method of determining the position of an object or sound source by using sound waves. Location can take place in gases, liquids, and in solids.

In land warfare, artillery sound ranging is a method of determining the coordinates of a hostile battery using data derived from the sound of its guns firing, so called target acquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation</span>

Sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (SASER) refers to a device that emits acoustic radiation. It focuses sound waves in a way that they can serve as accurate and high-speed carriers of information in many kinds of applications—similar to uses of laser light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass trap</span>

Bass traps are acoustic energy absorbers which are designed to damp low-frequency sound energy with the goal of attaining a flatter low-frequency (LF) room response by reducing LF resonances in rooms. They are commonly used in recording studios, mastering rooms, home theatres and other rooms built to provide a critical listening environment. Like all acoustically absorptive devices, they function by turning sound energy into heat through friction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultrasonic transducer</span> Acoustic sensor

Ultrasonic transducers and ultrasonic sensors are devices that generate or sense ultrasound energy. They can be divided into three broad categories: transmitters, receivers and transceivers. Transmitters convert electrical signals into ultrasound, receivers convert ultrasound into electrical signals, and transceivers can both transmit and receive ultrasound.

Vocal resonance may be defined as "the process by which the basic product of phonation is enhanced in timbre and/or intensity by the air-filled cavities through which it passes on its way to the outside air." Throughout the vocal literature, various terms related to resonation are used, including: amplification, filtering, enrichment, enlargement, improvement, intensification, and prolongation. Acoustic authorities would question many of these terms from a strictly scientific perspective. However, the main point to be drawn from these terms by a singer or speaker is that the result of resonation is to make a better sound, or at least suitable to a certain esthetical and practical domain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koenig's manometric flame apparatus</span> Physical instrument used to visualize sound waves, invented by Rudolph Koenig

Koenig's manometric flame apparatus was a laboratory instrument invented in 1862 by the German physicist Rudolph Koenig, and used to visualize sound waves. It was the nearest equivalent of the modern oscilloscope in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acoustic metamaterial</span> Material designed to manipulate sound waves

An acoustic metamaterial, sonic crystal, or phononic crystal is a material designed to control, direct, and manipulate sound waves or phonons in gases, liquids, and solids. Sound wave control is accomplished through manipulating parameters such as the bulk modulus β, density ρ, and chirality. They can be engineered to either transmit, or trap and amplify sound waves at certain frequencies. In the latter case, the material is an acoustic resonator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanical filter</span> Type of signal processing filter

A mechanical filter is a signal processing filter usually used in place of an electronic filter at radio frequencies. Its purpose is the same as that of a normal electronic filter: to pass a range of signal frequencies, but to block others. The filter acts on mechanical vibrations which are the analogue of the electrical signal. At the input and output of the filter, transducers convert the electrical signal into, and then back from, these mechanical vibrations.

References

  1. ↑ "Birthday honours". Flight . 7 June 1928. p. 414.
  2. ↑ Hannah Gay (2007). The history of Imperial College London, 1907-2007. Imperial College Press. p. 144. ISBN   9781860948183.
  3. ↑ "The concrete blocks that once protected Britain". BBC. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  4. ↑ J.N. McKie (1996). "John Tindale (1878-1969) and the Genesis of the Radio-Telescope". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 37: 679. Bibcode:1996QJRAS..37..663M.
  5. ↑ "Second Supplement to London Gazette". The London Gazette . 7 April 1916. p. 3769.
  6. 1 2 3 Bragg, Lawrence (2015). Crystal clear : the autobiographies of Sir Lawrence and Lady Bragg (2015 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 89–91. ISBN   978-0198744306.
  7. ↑ Tucker, William; Paris, E.T. (3 March 1921). "A Selective Hot-Wire Microphone". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 221 (582–593): 390. Bibcode:1921RSPTA.221..389T. doi: 10.1098/rsta.1921.0011 .
  8. 1 2 van der Kloot, William (2004). "Sound Ranging". Great Scientists Wage the Great War : The First War of Science 1914-1918. Oxford, England: Fonthill. ISBN   9781781554029.
  9. ↑ "Fan Bay sound mirrors". Andrewgrantham.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "The concrete blocks that once protected Britain". BBC.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.