USING WAVES AND VIBRATIONS

Sound moves through air and water in the form of waves, which bounce back if they strike an object. If you possess the necessary technology and knowledge, these rebounding waves can provide a great deal of information about the body they encountered, such as its distance from the source, its size, and the direction and speed of its motion.

This technology to locate objects by means of sound and pressure waves was developed in the 20th century, actually for military purposes. But today, it is also used to locate sunken ships and for mapping the ocean floor. However, millions of years ago, long before man discovered this technology, living things in nature were using the sound waves they spread around them in order to survive.

Dolphins, bats, fish and moths have all possessed this system, known as sonar, ever since they were created. What is more, their systems are much more sensitive and functional than those employed by human beings today.

Bats’ Sonar Goes Far Beyond the Bounds of Human Technology

The U.S. Defense Department set out to implement principles of bat sonar in its own system of sonar, an indispensable method for locating submarines under the surface of the sea. According to a report in Science, one of America’s best-known magazines, the Defense Department set aside a special allocation to pay for this project.

With their highly developed radar equipment, the AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) in Boeing 767 jets is used for early warning and target control purposes. AWACS, effective in the air and on land, can identify ships on the surface only and fails when it comes to submarines under the water (which are invisible to AWACS). (Bezen Çetin, "Hava Savunma Sistemleri," (Air Defense Systems)Bilim ve Teknik, Jan. 1995, 33.)

It has long been known that bats use their sonar system to find their way around in the pitch dark. Recently, researchers have uncovered new secrets of how they do it. According to their research, the brown insectivorous bat, Eptesicus fuscus, can process two million overlapping echoes a second. Furthermore, it can perceive these echoes with a resolution of only 0.3 millimeters (1/80th of an inch). According to these figures, bat's sonar is three times more sensitive than its man-made equivalent. 50

Bats' sonar navigational skills teach us a great deal about flying in the dark. Research carried out with infrared thermal imaging cameras and ultrasound detectors afforded considerable information about how bats fly in search of prey at night.

Bats can seize an insect from mid-air as the insect rises from the grass. Some bats even plunge into bushes to capture their prey. It’s no easy task to seize an insect buzzing in the air using only reflected sound waves. But if you consider that the insect is among the bushes, and sound waves bounce back from all the leaves surrounding it, you will grasp what an impressive task the bat actually performs.

In a situation like that, bats reduce their sonar squeals, to prevent their becoming confused by echoes from the surrounding vegetation. Yet by itself, this tactic isn’t enough to enable bats to perceive the objects individually, because they also need to distinguish the arrival time and direction of the overlapping echoes. 51

Bats also use their sonar when flying over water to drink, and in some cases, to capture prey from the ground. Their expert maneuverability can best be seen when one bat chases another. Understanding how they can do this will let us produce a wide range of technological products, especially equipment for sonar navigation and detection. Moreover, bats’ broad-band sonar system is also imitated today in mine-sweeping technology. 52

As we have seen, the properties of living things benefit us in a very large number of ways. In one verse, God draws attention to the uses in animals:

And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you benefit from them... (Qur’an, 23: 21)

In identifying underwater targets, the Greater Bulldog Bat(Noctilio leporinusi) is far superior to AWACS. This bat’s sonar system enables it to hunt fish. It’s no exaggeration to think of the bat as a kind of advanced warplane with early warning capabilities. When it locates a fish near the surface of the water, it goes into a dive. On the large feet of the bat, which are ideally designed for seizing fish, there are super sharp, powerful claws. As it approaches its prey, the bat drops its feet below the water, where its thin claws meet no water resistance. These large, sharp and pointed claws give the bat a great advantage when it comes to gripping its prey. (“More about bat echolocation;” http://www.szgdocent.org/resource/ff/f-bateco.htm)

Some moth species are able to confuse the bats’ detection system by means of the high-pitched squeaks they emit. If the bat can't locate the moth, it’s unable to catch it. (Phil Gates, Wild Technology, 53.) The EA-6B Prowler aircraft currently used by the U.S. military imitate these moths’ tactics. It monitors the electromagnetic spectrum and actively denies an adversary the use of radar and communications. (“EA-6B Prowler;” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ systems/ aircraft/ea-6.htm)

Dolphin Sound Waves and Sonar Technology

From a special organ known as the melon in its head, a dolphin can sometimes produce as many as 1,200 clicks a second. Simply by moving its head, this creature is able to transmit the waves in the direction it wishes. When the sound waves strike an object, they are reflected and return to the dolphin. The echoes reflected from the object pass through the dolphin's lower jaw to the middle ear, and from there to the brain. Thanks to the enormous speed at which these data are interpreted, very accurate and sensitive information is obtained. The echoes let the dolphin determine the direction of movement, speed and size of the object that reflects them. 53

The dolphin sonar is so sensitive that it can even identify one single fish from among an entire shoal. 54 It can also distinguish between two separate metal coins, three kilometers away in the pitch dark. 55

In the present day, the instrument known as SONAR 56 is used to identify targets and their directions for ships and submarines. Sonar works on exactly the same principle as that employed by the dolphin.

At Yale University, a robot was developed to be used for exploring new environments. An  electrical engineering professor Roman Kuc equipped the robot with a sonar system imitating the one used by dolphins. Professor Kuc, who spent 10 years working on ultrasound sensors and robotics research, admitted, “We decided to take a closer look at how echolocation is used in nature to see if we might be missing something.” 57

“Glory be to Him Who has the Dominion of all things in His Hand. To Him you will be returned.” (Qur’an,36:83)

Scientists and engineers have built several robots based on the sonar designs in nature. One of these, the robot named “koala,” constructed by the K-Team Company, has six sonar units and was designed for remote-control exploration purposes.

Imagine that someone told you that under the sea, sound waves travel at 1,500 meters a second; then asked you to calculate, if your submarine sent out sound waves that came back in four seconds’ time, how far away was the object that reflected them.

You would calculate that you were three kilometers away. Dolphins are also capable of comfortably performing similar calculations, but they know neither the speed at which their sound waves travel through the water, nor how to multiply and divide. They don’t carry out any of these functions; all the animals do is behave the way God inspires them.

Evolutionists claim that dolphins’ sonar emerged as the result of a series of changes caused by different factors. (“National Geographic TV’s Undersea Fairy Tales; ”www.darwinism-watch.com/nat_geo_tv_undersea_tales.php) This is as senseless and meaningless as claiming that wind or earth tremors brought together thousands of pieces of electrical equipment on a shelf and formed a sonar circuit.

Operators trained to interpret the data sit at the consoles of the most developed sonar systems. Yet dolphins, which evolutionists maintain are more primitive than man, have no need of such operators.

Sonar Helps the Visually Impaired

As scientific research advances, we are discovering astonishing abilities in living things that offer solutions to problems in many areas of daily life, from the workplace to our hospitals. Darcy Winslow, General Manager of Environmental Business Opportunities for Nike, expresses this truth:

The extent to which the natural world can provide technological solutions for the types of product performance characteristics we must provide are virtually unlimited. Biomimicry still requires exploration, innovation and creativity, but by thinking like or working with a biologist, we must learn to ask a different set of questions and look to nature for inspiration and learning opportunities. 58

Many firms are now following a strategy that parallels the one that Winslow set out. It is now possible to see electronic and mechanical engineers working together with biologists.

Already, engineers influenced by bat's sonar have mounted a small sonar unit onto a pair of glasses. After a period of familiarization with the glasses, visually handicapped people are now able to avoid obstacles and even ride bicycles. Still, the system’s designers stress that it will never replace human vision eye or be as functional as that of the bat.

It’s of course impossible for flawless features like this, which even experts have difficulties in replicating, to have appeared by chance. We must not forget that what we refer to here as “features” are actually complex, interconnected systems. The absence or breakdown of only one component means that the whole system fails to work. For example, if bats sent out sound waves but couldn’t interpret the echoes reflected back, they would in fact have no echolocation system at all.

In scientific literature, the flawless and complete design that living things display is known as “irreducible complexity.” In other words, certain designs become meaningless and functionless if reduced down to a simpler form. Irreducible complexity in all organisms and their systems demolishes the fundamental idea of the theory of evolution, according to which organisms advance gradually, from the simple towards the complex. If a system can serve no purpose before it reaches its final form, there is no logical reason for it to maintain its existence over millions of years, while it refines and completes itself. A species can survive down the generations only if all its systems are present. No components of a system can afford the luxury of hoping to complete their alleged evolution over time. This clearly proves that when living things first appeared on Earth, they were created with all their structures developed and fully formed, as they are today.

God brought animals and all other living things into being through His superior creation. News of this creation is given in a verse:

And He created livestock. There is warmth for you in them, and various uses and some you eat. (Qur’an, 16: 5)

The Superior Design in the Bat Is Showing Us to Make Our Roads Safer

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh developed a robot that used its smart ears to find its way by means of echolocation, just like a bat. Jose Carmena, of the university’s department of informatics, and his colleagues named this invention “RoBat.” The RoBat was equipped with a central sound source, serving the same function as a bat’s mouth, and two fixed receivers at a distance apart comparable to a bat's ears.

In order to make the best use of echoes, other features of the bat were also borne in mind when designing the RoBat. Bats move their ears to detect interference patterns in the echoes and thus, can easily avoid obstacles in front of them, navigate and hunt down preys. Like bats, the RoBat was also equipped with smart acoustic sensors to make its mechanism as flawless as possible.

Thanks to such nature-inspired sound sensors, it is hoped that one day our roads will be much safer.

In fact, such car manufacturers as Mercedes and BMW already use ultrasonic sensors to help drivers reverse. Thanks to them, the driver is alerted to how close he is to a car or other obstruction behind him. 59

A Fish’s Detector Against Pollution

The West African elephant nose fish (Gnathonemus petersii) lives in 27oC (80oF) muddy waters of Nigeria. This 10 cm (3.9 in) fish uses its eyes very little in the muddy water. It finds its way by means of the electrical signals constantly given off by muscles in its tail. Under normal circumstances, it emits 300-500 signals a minute. As the pollution levels rise, however, the number of signals emitted per minute can exceed 1,000.

Detectors that make use of elephant nose fish are used to measure pollution levels in the British city of Bournemouth. A water company in the city gave specimens of water from the River Stour to be checked by 20 elephant nose fish. Each fish lives in an aquarium filled with water from the river. The receptor signals in the aquarium are forwarded to computers to which they are linked. If the water is polluted the increased numbers of signals emitted by the fish are identified, and the alarm signal is given by means of the computer. 60

The electric eel Electrophorus electricus lives in the Amazon. Two-thirds of its two-meter long body is covered in 5,000 to 6,000 electricity-producing disc-like plates that produce 550 V / 2 A of electricity. The shock is sufficient to stun fish up to two meters away. (“Iste Doga,” Bilim ve Teknik, Nov. 1985, 11.)

Scientists imitate the electric eel’s defense mechanism, using the same principle as it employs today. That the eel can release such a strong discharge of electricity is truly a miracle of creation. It’s out of the question for this exceedingly complex system involved to have come about in stages: If the fish’s electricity production fails to function completely, it will give it no advantage. In other words, every part of the system must have been created flawlessly and at the same time.

You can use electrical signals to locate an object or for communications, but need to have accumulated scientific technology to do so. Even today, very few countries have reached that level. Yet some electric eels possess organic radar around their bodies that give off electrical signals that bounce back from its surroundings, letting the animal obtain information about the size, speed and motion of the objects around it. The eel can also obtain information about the gender and maturity of another electric eel, and then invite it to mate or frighten it off. (W. M. Westby, "Les poissons électriques se parlent par décharges," Science et Vie, no. 798, Mar. 1984) Considering the complicated nature of our radar and communications systems, we can better understand the marvelous creation within the eel’s body.

The glass knife fish (Eigenmannia virescens) locates objects in much the same way as humans calculate distance. We calculate distance according to the distance between sound waves and the time waves from the object take to reach our ear. This takes place in a little as 1/15,000 second. Instead of the sound waves, however, the glass knife fish emits electrical signals and detects perturbations in the self-generated electric field due to nearby objects. As California University researchers G. Rose and W. Heilingenberg discovered, the fish can perform these calculations in 400 billionths of a second, like a super-computer. (“Harika Balik,” (Wonderful Fish), Hakan Durmus, Bilim ve Teknik, Mar. 1991, 43)