3 ms·
Well depends on their bandwidth. An accelerometer is essentially indistinguishable microphone also capable of detecting sounds all the way "DC" sound (where 'so
by darkmighty 11y ago
Well depends on their bandwidth. An accelerometer is essentially indistinguishable microphone also capable of detecting sounds all the way "DC" sound (where 'sound' is applied force on the accelerometer itself rather than a pressure plate that reacts to air pressure) -- if it's sampling rate is fast enough and it is coupled to the structure (i.e. the coupling system also has enough bandwidth) it is an acoustic sensor.
Of course, a microphone was designed with high bandwidth in mind, while accelerometers probably value more precision around the DC input.
- engi_nerd 11y agoNot all accelerometers have usable response at DC. The accels I have on my platform for dynamics measurement (high structural vibration and flutter) are meant to be AC coupled, for example. At rest they may give some garbage reading, but when they're vibrating, they accurately measure how the structure is responding. Your point remains though, if the accel has appropriate frequency response and is properly conditioned and sampled at a high enough rate, acoustic measurement is possible. What I was trying to say (maybe poorly) is that an accelerometer would not be my first choice for doing such work. But in the aftermath of an event like this, the data may be (and was, it sounds like) usable for such purposes.