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I also read somewhere on SoR that sonar can also be used to detect how hard of soft a material is. How does it do that?
The difference is the power of the returned pulse - harder objects reflect more energy back, softer objects absorb more energy.
Quote from: Admin on August 14, 2010, 07:01:38 AMThe difference is the power of the returned pulse - harder objects reflect more energy back, softer objects absorb more energy.Assuming equal distance, two objects, one 20cm wide and some degree of "soft" and the other 10cm wide and "twice as hard" (in the sense of amount of reflection per area) - I don't really see how you're gonna tell softness from area unless you do some very fine calc on the returned pulse (i.e. using analog timing circuits of a similar speed like in LASER TOF circuitry)?
Mud, sand and vegetation on the bottom absorb and scatter the sonar signal, reducing the strength of the return echo. Rock, shale, coral and other hard objects reflect the sonar signal easily. You can see the difference on your sonar's screen. A soft bottom, such as mud, shows as a thin line across the screen. A hard bottom, such as rock, shows as a wide line on the sonar's screen.