"So, do you want to teach with that?"

My dear brainiac of a husband is a physics major. An acoustical physics major, to be exact. The most common question we get after stating his field of study is something along the lines of, "So, do you want to teach then?" I think the assumption is that his field of research seems very particular, and so the only thing you could really do with it career-wise is pass on the information to the next batch of college students, who will then do the same.

This assumption is very incorrect.

I understand though, because I barely even knew what physics was when we started dating, and practically failed that section of science in college.

So, let me enlighten you on the topic of Acoustical Physics, or in other words, the study of sound.

In a nutshell, Brent studies sound waves. Here are just some professions that depend on the study of sound waves--some recognizable, others more obscure but still needed:

Hey Caleb! (Thanks sound waves!)

Ultrasound research. You can thank sound waves for the ability to look at your unborn baby.
Lithotripsies. Kidney stones, BE GONE!
Designers of jets, planes, etc. They need to conform to local noise laws, among other things. So yeah, it really is rocket science.
Consultants for building structures. Did you know an acoustical consultant was needed in order to build the LDS Conference Center? Otherwise, the people in the back row would hear the speaker at a much different time than the people in the front row, if at all.
Government lab workers. If I told you what they did, I would have to kill you.
Laptop designers. Mac hires acoustical physicists to make sure your laptop's fan isn't too loud.
Oceanography peeps. Unda' da sea sound waves are much more effective in locating stuff down on de ocean floor than anything else.
Hearing Aid researcher. For obvious reasons. What did you say? What? Come again?

Of course being a professor would be included in this list, but it is far from the only job option. Brent would one day like to teach, but he would rather be in a field that applied the research first. Some things that Brent has done with his research is studying if it is possible to cancel out sound waves from snoring (sorry, he found out we can't) as well as using sound waves to find cracks in metal containers and concrete (useful because the containers contained nuclear waste and you don't want to mess with that). He also took measurements on an F-35 so they could understand what to do to abide by noise laws in the area that the plane would end up in. He will be spending most of his degree focusing on that last one.

Other fun facts learned from acoustical physics:
1. when you hear a babbling brook, you are really hearing bubbles. Pour yourself a glass of water--when you can hear the water, it's because of bubbles. No sound? No bubbles. Try it!
2. You can levitate small objects with sound
3. Also, this video that gives a good visual of sound waves (Art meets science!!):

We could really end up anywhere, from California studying the ocean, to Denver working for Lockheed Martin, or Ohio working for Air Force, to Alaska studying volcanic noise, to one of the several government labs located throughout the country. The nice thing is though, Brent will have a job secured by the time he graduates in four years. We're crossing our fingers for somewhere in either Southern California or the Denver area so we can be close to family. But who knows!

In the meantime, I actually will be teaching. Art, not science. And from my house, not at a school. I'm excited!