Echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the listener. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room.
This article is about the acoustic phenomenon. For echoes in telecommunications, see Signal reflection. For other uses, see Echo (disambiguation).Etymology[edit]
The word echo derives from the Greek ἠχώ (ēchō),[1] itself from ἦχος (ēchos), 'sound'.[2] Echo in Greek mythology was a mountain nymph whose ability to speak was cursed, leaving her able only to repeat the last words spoken to her.
Use of echo[edit]
In sonar, utrasonic waves are more energetic than audible sounds. They can travel undeviated through a long distance, confined to a narrow beam, and are not easily absorbed in the medium. Hence, sound ranging and echo depth sounding uses ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic waves are sent in all directions from the ship and are received at the receiver after the reflection from an obstacle(enemy ship, iceberg, or sunken ship. Using the formula d = (V*t)/2, the distance from the obstacle is found. Echo depth sounding is the process of finding the depth of the sea using this process. In the medical field, ultrasonic waves of sound are used in ultrasonography and echo cardiography. [4]
Echo in music[edit]
In music performance and recording, electric echo effects have been used since the 1950s. The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959 that recreates the sound of an acoustic echo. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s and was used by most of the notable guitar players of the era; original Echoplexes are highly sought after. While Echoplexes were used heavily by guitar players (and the occasional bass player, such as Chuck Rainey, or trumpeter, such as Don Ellis), many recording studios also used the Echoplex. Beginning in the 1970s, Market built the solid-state Echoplex for Maestro. In the 2000s, most echo effects units use electronic or digital circuitry to recreate the echo effect.