Seeing Sound

I found it interesting that in order to show the sound disturbances in the air, a technique was used that's also common in lighting a film. The technique involves using two parabolic mirrors to reflect light rays and recoup it down to a single focal point, that's partially blocked by a barrier. When something is placed to distort the air like a candle, its rising heat bends the light rays, and they now become blocked by the barrier. This creates a darker picture and a silhouette, which allows us to see sound coming from any kinetic reaction like a clap or sneeze. By seeing sound visualized, it's easy to understand what it's made up of, as that can't be perceived by the naked eye. With this visualization, you can understand that it's essentially just traveling compression waves, which similar to heat, create a change in air density.