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Q:
In any way can sound reflect light or vice verse?
- Barrington Martin
reynoldsburg, Ohio U.S.A
A:
Yes, sound waves change the density (or more generally, refractive index) of the material they're traveling in. Light waves diffract off that varying index of refraction. This is a standard process used in studying materials, called Brillouin scattering,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brillouin_scattering. The opposite process, sound bouncing off of light, tends to be too weak to be of much routine use.
Mike W.
(published on 12/09/2010)
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