Explain the working and application of a sonar?

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Detailed Solution

SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) uses ultrasonic sound waves to detect and locate objects under water.

Working Principle

A transmitter emits ultrasonic pulses into water.
The pulses strike an object (seabed, fish, submarine) and reflect as an echo.
A receiver detects the echo. The time delay between emission and reception is measured.
The distance to the object is computed by:

Distance = (Speed of sound in water × Time) / 2

Why divide by 2? The pulse travels to the object and back, so the total time covers a round trip.

Key Applications

Navigation: Ships/submarines detect underwater obstacles and avoid collisions.
Depth sounding: Measures sea and ocean depth (echo sounding).
Fish finding: Locates schools of fish for commercial fishing.
Defence: Detects enemy submarines, mines, and tracks movement.
Oceanography & Mapping: Maps seafloor topography and studies marine life/habitats.

Assumptions & Typical Values

Speed of sound in seawater ≈ 1500 m/s (varies with temperature, salinity, depth).
Ultrasonic frequency range commonly used: tens to hundreds of kHz.

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