Is it possible to impart a moment with soundwaves?

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SUMMARY

Sound waves can be manipulated to induce rotation in asymmetric objects, such as a cube of aluminum, within a medium of aluminum shavings. The discussion highlights the challenges of using sound waves for spinning spherical objects, indicating that the torque produced is insufficient for practical applications like sound-powered motors. The feasibility of this concept remains limited due to the low power output associated with sound wave manipulation.

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  • Understanding of sound wave properties and behavior
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  • Basic principles of acoustic manipulation techniques
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Skyler0114
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Can one adjust the properties of a sound wave to use it to spin an arbitrary object of shape S in a medium comprised of the same material. My intuition tells me that it would be much more difficult (if not impossible) to do this with spherical objects, so for now we can assume the object is asymmetric if that makes things easier.

Here is a possible example: Let's say for example we want to spin a cube of aluminum inside a big bundle of loosely (or tightly) packed aluminum shavings.
 
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Yes sound waves can be used to spin a solid object or powders, sand etc. There is not much power produced in the way of torque so it has not been used to make sound powered motors etc

 
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