Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Microparticle Manipulation by Standing Surface Acoustic Waves with Dual-frequency Excitations
Published on: August 21, 2018
Compressional and surface waves in sand: used by desert scorpions to locate prey
Abstract:
Loose sand conducts compressional and surface (Rayleigh) waves at relatively low velocities (95 to 120 meters per second and 40 to 50 meters per second, respectively) compared to other natural substrates. For frequencies between 1 and 5 kilohertz, the specific attenuation factor, Q, for sand is 18. Compound slit sensilla on basitarsal leg segments of sand-dwelling scorpions respond to surface waves generated by movements of insects as far as 50 centimeters away, and tarsal sensory hairs respond to higher-frequency (mostly compressional-wave) components of the signal.
Related Concept Videos
Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal in most fluids because fluids cannot sustain any lateral pressure. In solids, however, shear forces help in propagating the disturbance in the lateral direction as well. Hence,...
Travelling Waves
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
Sound as Pressure Waves
The pressure fluctuation depends on the difference in displacements between the successive points in the...
Shock Waves
When the source's speed approaches the speed of sound, constructive interference between successive wavefronts emitted by the source occurs immediately behind it. Initially, scientists believed that this constructive interference would result in such high pressures...
Interference and Diffraction
Wave Parameters

