Hi, we're here from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes.

I'm Cody Gough.

And I'm Ashley Hamer.

Today you'll learn about a new device that scientists have developed that makes sound go one way.

You'll also learn about the surprising power of exclusion

and why and how you can control it,

with special guest Vivian Sius.

Let's satisfy some curiosity.

A team of Yale researchers has developed a device that makes sound and other vibrations flow

in one direction.

And this opens up a world of possibilities for transmitting sound and heat.

Before I get into how it works,

here's a quick refresher on how sound works.

All sounds are transmitted through vibrations.

For example, your voice causes your vocal cords to vibrate, and then the sound is carried through the air by vibrating particles.

These vibrations have different amplitudes and frequencies.

Amplitude is the size of the vibration or how loud the sound will be and

frequency is the speed of the vibration as in how many wave cycles happen per second

and that determines the sounds

in certain frequency ranges louder or quieter.

Musical instruments, for example, are designed to amplify certain frequencies

and car mufflers are engineered to absorb sound.

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