ABSTRACT FOR THE MEETING 
OF THE GREATER BOSTON CHAPTER OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

on January 22, 2002 at Massa Products Corporation, Hingam, MA

Overview of Some of the Similarities and Differences in the Construction and Operation of Electroacoustic Transducers Designed for Transmitting and Receiving Sound Underwater as Compared to Those Intended for Operation in Air

By DON MASSA

Massa Products Corporation
Hingham, MA
massa@massa.com

Electroacoustic Transducers are used extensively in a wide variety of applications. Underwater transducers are used by the Navy to detect and classify ships, submarines and mines. Other underwater applications include depth measurement, navigation, communication, sub-bottom profiling and bottom mapping. In air, electroacoustic transducers comprise audio microphones and loudspeakers in devices such as telephones, stereos, televisions and PA systems. They are also used in a wide variety of specialized industrial applications, such as non-contact distance measurement, liquid and bulk level measurement in tanks, anti-collision devices, communications, and robotic control systems. This presentation will discuss the design, construction, and application of a number of different types of underwater and air transducers. Many different physical examples will be shown of some of the transducers and electroacoustic systems Massa Products Corporation has designed and manufactured over the last half century.