[Crash_00]

On a separate note, would ultrasound be able to tell the difference between a solid wall and a section with a void on the other side. Basically finding hidden doors by telling the difference in the sound that comes back?

[John Schmidt]

*warning shameless SR advertisement follows*

In Spy Game on page 150 there is a whole section (Surveillance) on just this topic. What you are looking for is something to generate and detect Terahertz waves, that nifty bit of the spectrum that straddles waves and particles. 

I should add that I saw an incredible material that is now available for soundproofing, flexible, thin, and the demo I saw on tv put me in a stunned...silence. 
Tomorrow I will look it up and post it.

[Teknodragon]

*warning shameless SR advertisement follows*

In Spy Game on page 150 there is a whole section (Surveillance) on just this topic. What you are looking for is something to generate and detect Terahertz waves, that nifty bit of the spectrum that straddles waves and particles. 

I should add that I saw an incredible material that is now available for soundproofing, flexible, thin, and the demo I saw on tv put me in a stunned...silence. 
Tomorrow I will look it up and post it.

... sitting here quietly, biting my tongue... is that blood I taste? 

[John Schmidt]

@Teknodragon

No, really there is a section in Spy Games devoted to Terahertz wave tech and how they have the ability to see through certain materials, including a single wall. 

[Teknodragon]

@John
I know about the section, it is the description of the terahertz waves that makes me want to cringe and/or rant, as I already did elsewhere in the product release thread.

[John Schmidt]

@John
I know about the section, it is the description of the terahertz waves that makes me want to cringe and/or rant, as I already did elsewhere in the product release thread.

You mean where you said...

"I have a serious urge to slap the writer"

I am going to take the leap of faith that the aforementioned statement was hyperbole on your part as it would otherwise be a violation of ToS for this forum. If the original poster wants to see through a single wall and clothing then they want terahertz goggles. 

[Teknodragon]

Yes, it was a poor choice of words for hyperbole, which I used without thought. My apologies; I will try to be more considerate in the future. Again, my apologies.

[CanRay]

Yes, it was a poor choice of words for hyperbole, which I used without thought. My apologies; I will try to be more considerate in the future. Again, my apologies.

As a Supervisor once told me:  "Less threatening bodily harm on people in public, please.  That causes distress." 

[Crash_00]

Yes, threaten mental harm instead. 

I'm not actually asking about "seeing" through walls. I'm thinking more of showing thickness of the wall. Ultrasound is sound based and (from my rough understanding) works off of reading the echo. What I was wondering is if the ultrasound would show the difference between a eight inch thick section of wall and a four inch thick section of wall. I mean, we can tell the difference between sounds when knocking on said walls, so it made me wonder.

[CanRay]

Yes, threaten mental harm instead. 

Actually, that's what I thought I was doing when I said "Beat the stupid out of those...", and a bunch of words I shouldn't say in a public forum. 

I was venting steam and would never have verbally or physically abused the callers who talked to me for tech support.

[Crash_00]

Ah, tech support. Who hasn't offered three hundred and fifty seven ways to help the people calling in that can't figure out that the monitor has a separate power button. I find it sad that while working tech support at a college the most common issues were (in this order):
-Not Plugged In
-Not Turned On (Yes I'm serious)
-Monitor Not Turned On

[CanRay]

Try working with the public and include "Did not pay the bill" and then have to go through each and every charge on the account, even stuff that isn't even connected to the Internet.

[Crash_00]

Oh trust me I understand. I work in an automotive shop now and I can't count how many times someone has come in asking me to put their air filter in and then proceeded to hand me an oil filter.

[John Schmidt]

@Teknodragon Seriously don't sweat it. Text based communications lack tone and context, which are pretty essential to any meaningful dialog. In a perfect world my writing efforts would result in piles of cash arriving at regular intervals along with sacks of fan mail...I don't hold out much hope for that happening though. 

@Crash_00 I get what you are asking and I would defer to others that have a better understanding of that subject. As a GM I would say that an interior motel wall is going to be drywall and 2x4 hemp studs and that would be common knowledge.

[CanRay]

@Teknodragon Seriously don't sweat it. Text based communications lack tone and context, which are pretty essential to any meaningful dialog. In a perfect world my writing efforts would result in piles of cash arriving at regular intervals along with sacks of fan mail...I don't hold out much hope for that happening though. 

There needs to be a sarcasm font.  Or an emotional font, period, come to think of it.  Until we get DNIs and can add an emotional resonance to our comments...

@Crash_00 I get what you are asking and I would defer to others that have a better understanding of that subject. As a GM I would say that an interior motel wall is going to be drywall and 2x4 hemp studs and that would be common knowledge.

Heh, two pieces of drywall and some studs, if you're lucky!  Some motels I've been stuck at have had thinner walls than that.   

Don't even get me started on Dad's tales of crappy places, either.  (He was a long-distance truck driver for far too many years, and was really, really happy when he got his own rig with a bunk!)