ASK ME PHYSICS: Questions on physics answered
Hello
I do this every day where i ask if people have any physics questions they want answering. This is not for money i simply want to introduce some curiosity and knowledge about the world we live in. There are so many wonderful aspects of life that are part of physics and no one pays attention
Science is bloody interesting if you give it a chance, and strangely beautiful.
Please comment below if you have a question you want to ask. It doesnt matter how difficult or easy, i will write a post about it within a day.
You can check the previous questions i answered on time relativity and hydrophobic properties at
I've always wondered how ultrasound is capable of giving us a two dimensional image.... If i was to use a sound wave to map an object from on top would I not simply get a general idea of the density of the object as a whole (like X-ray)? How's it able to look at different densities at different depths and create an image?
I'm guessing you mean a 3 dimensional image for ultrasound? x rays give a 2 dimensional image. I'll get on it now
With ultrasound there is an A-Scan and a B-Scan, where B-Scans are just multiple A-Scans together.
The basic principle is to scan at a specific location and you receive a 1-D -Signal which consists of only signal peaks (reflections, which is the starting signal shifted in time and attenuated of course).
You then move your ultrasonic device a few millimeters to either side and do the same again. You can then put all of those 1-D signals side by side basically and receive a 2-D Picture (or signal).
Of course these are just the basics and im not an ultrasonic expert, so I can not tell you how specifically ultrasonic methods for medical imaging work (how they generate a 2D picture seemingly instantly).