The Belgian artist Christoph De Boeck uses a FEMTO voltage amplifier for his acoustic installation „Golfvorm“. He reveals the inaudible sounds of stressed metal.
Ultra Acoustic Emissions are ultra high and short acoustic waves that arise when materials under stress are degrading.
In “Golfvorm” (“Waveform”) a salt vapor corrodes a steel sheet that bends under a load. Acoustic emissions are captured, amplified in real time by FEMTO`s HVA-10M-60-F to be finally slowed down by a computer program for reproduction. As pitting corrosion progresses, acoustic bursts from microscopic cracks will pierce the silence and carry visual tension into the acoustic space.
Photo: Overtoon
Iron is present as a mineral in stone, as a component of brushed steel and finally as rust in an aesthetic interpretation of a stress test known as 'buckling'. A stretched moment of instability that will eventually lead to failure.
The Ultra Acoustic Emissions can be amplified thanks to the wide bandwidth from DC to 10 MHz and the low input noise of the HVA-10M-60-F by FEMTO. Learn more about the HVA series on the HVA product page.
As a part of the art show „Où sont les sons?/Where are sounds?“ you can see the installation in the CENTRALE (Place Sainte-Catherine 44 Sint-Katelijneplein, 1000 Brussel) until September 10, 2017. More information about the artist and his work can be found here.
Berlin - July 24, 2017