What is Sonar?
Answer – Sonar, which is short for Sound Navigation and Ranging, is the system used to map and measure objects that are underwater. Explanation:
Sound waves travel well in water. Sonar utilizes this property and uses sound waves to detect and image objects deep under the water’s surface. It is also used to map the ocean floor. Sound waves are detected and captured by sonar, and used to determine information like the distance of the solid from the system.
Sonar is primarily of two different types – active and passive. In active sonar, sound waves are actively emitted into the water body from its surface. Once they hit a solid surface, they are reflected or echoed back up to the surface. The sonar picks them up and uses the difference in time between the emission of sound and the detection of its echo to calculate the distance between the surface and the object. Other information such as the object’s shape and size can also be determined.
Image credit: vrx123 via Adobe In passive sonar, sound waves are not emitted by the system. Rather, it depends on the sounds produced by objects that are already underwater, such as machines and/or animals. The sonar picks up on these, but cannot extract much unless it is used in conjunction with other passive sonar systems that allow for triangulation.
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