Lab Note 1: Why this project?

The idea for the project first came about when discussing how to test the quality of a sporting surface, such as a football or cricket pitch. The suggestion that one could record the sound made when tapping an object on the surface, and listen for variations as a function of position, would be an assessment of surface quality and uniformity.

This idea was further reinforced when a colleague reminded me that in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', Willy Wonka used an army of squirrels in The Nut Room for quality control of incoming nuts. Acoustic assessment!