On the Line: Physics, Design, LightSound

“Deep neural network for learning wave scattering and interference of underwater acoustics”

Sometimes science is, to the rest of us, abstract poetry. The above is the title of a research paper to be published in the Physics of Fluids journal about an innovation “that harnesses the power of AI to accurately model how sound waves travel underwater [and] could help reduce the impact of noise pollution on marine life.”

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"To find sources of real sound of people in pain is convincing, and the credibility of the sound you use is so important because you can fool the eye much more easily than you can the ear."

That is Oscar-nominated sound designer Johnnie Burn talking to Salon’s Gary M. Kramer about the production of the Holocaust film The Zone of Interest, based on a Martin Amis novel.

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"This device isn’t just for a blind or low-vision person. It could also be a tool for a person that engages with data differently."

That is Harvard astronomy lab manager Allyson Bieryla talking to National Geographic’s Stephanie Vermillion about LightSound, “a smartphone-sized device that translates ambient brightness into sound.”