Charles River as Research Lab
The Charles River not only is intimately connected with MIT’s identity, but also has served as a laboratory for the Institute. Faculty and students make constant use of the Charles, perhaps none more so than Harold Edgerton. Famous for his high-speed photographs, Edgerton made equally important contributions to underwater exploration, including the development of side scan sonar technology. In the early 1950s, Edgerton began experimenting with sonar to focus deep-sea photographs. In 1961, when his student Martin Klein (SB ’62) was seeking a senior thesis topic, Edgerton suggested signal processing of his sonar data. The project was so successful that he hired Klein to lead the sonar systems program at EG&G. Klein led the development of the Mark I, the first commercially successful dual-channel side scan sonar. In 1967, Klein left EG&G to form his own company, Klein Associates, Inc., and continued the tradition of testing his equipment in the Charles. On display is the company’s first side scan sonar, the MK-300 (1970).
Gift of L3Com-Klein Associates.
Related information
Side scan sonar from L-3 Klein Associates
What is this object? What does it do?
This is a side scan sonar, a device that emits sounds and listens for their reflections to return to it. (It works rather like a bat’s sonar.) From the time it takes the sound to travel out and return, the sonar operator can tell how far away objects are from the sonar.
The sound beams go off to either side of the torpedo-shaped sonar body, so it gives a view directly to the left or right. By towing the sonar through the water at a known speed, operators can build up an image of the seabed.
The museum has a longer article on this sonar and its creater (http://web.mit.edu/museum/exhibitions/kleinsidescansonar/index.html). The Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-scan_sonar) may be of help. Another explanation is at (http://www.starfishsonar.com/technology/sidescan-sonar.htm). This Google search will help you find lots of cool images taken y side scan sonars (http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=side-scan+sonar+images).
Best,
Jim Bales