In many fiction stories there are weapons that are sound-based, using certain sound frequencies to shatter objects and cause earthquake-like effects. What’s the Straight Dope on these devices?
I’d imagine that if they worked like this, we would have been using them for decades, so I’m a little suspicious. But then again, right now the military has developed a microwave ray weapon used to disperse crowds, which has a rather sci-fi vibe going.
There’s a huge body of work on using sound waves and ultrasound to cause nasty effects on people and on things. I’m not sure what you look it up under.
If you’re looking for laser-style devices, those exist, too, only not so dramatic. I’m working on an article on them, in fact. There are Phasers – PHonon Amplification by Stilumated Emission of Radiation and Sasers – Sound Amplifi–etc. Both use vibrational quanta (phonons) in solids, but in different frequency regimes.
The classic example is the opera star who can shatter a crystal glass by hitting a certain note.
However, it would have be one of the same notes that the glass resonates at when rubbed with a wet finger.
The idea that all the other glass in the room, such as her escort’s monocle, is just Keystone Kops hijinks.
The term you’re looking for would be, oddly enough, “sonic weapons”; they’ve been proposed for stuff like police action and riot control, since they’d presumably be less lethal than standard bullets. This type of weapon has been investigated since about the WWII timeframe, but for the most part they haven’t been too practical. In more recent years, there’s been a bit more of a focus on this type of weapon. Check the first link below for a friendly introduction; in the second link, search for the section on “sonic bullets”. If you do a web search for “nonlethal sonic weapon”, you’ll find a variety of information ranging from very interesting government work to (alas) the inevitable wacky conspiracy theories.
Sonic cannon type weapons date back to the 1920’s, sure… in fiction, and in the pages of stuff like “Popular Mechanics.”
There are numerous examples in the 1930s of “sound weapons” in popular fiction. For some reason, though, these devices weren’t man-portable, as their death-ray counterparts seemed to be; they usually served the purpose of “plot device,” as a villain sought parts or scientific knowledge to build, complete, or steal the thing, and the heroes sought to block his evil plans.
Traditionally, they would fail, and the device would be tested on a building or structure of some sort (providing an opportunity for destruction on a budget), or even used for the villain’s nefarious plot (allowing for lots of shattering glass in skyscrapers and populated areas, as the gadget warmed up)…
…RIGHT before the hero or heroes burst in, disabled the gadget, beat up the bad guys, and captured the device (or caused its destructive energies to turn back on itself and/or the villain, destroying the widget).