High-quality, intense sound can be generated when vertical arrays of nanotubes (“forests”) are struck with laser light modulated by sound, University of Texas At Dallas researchers have discovered.

The nanotubes absorb energy from the laser light, inducing variations in the pressure of the air around the nanotubes, which are perceived as sound (the thermo-acoustic effect). No electrical contact with the nanotube speaker is required, making them wireless.

“Speakers made with carbon nanotube sheets are extremely thin, light and almost transparent,” said Dr. Mikhail Kozlov, a research scientist and the study’s lead author. “They have no moving parts and can be attached to any surface, which makes the surface acoustically active. They can be concealed in television and computer screens, apartment walls, or in the windows of buildings and cars. The almost invisible strands form films that can ‘talk.'”

The technology can also be used for noise cancellation.

More info: University of Texas At Dallas