[hahy-druh-fohn] 
| 1. | a device for locating sources of sound under water, as for detecting submarines by the noise of their engines. |
| 2. | an instrument employing the principles of the microphone, used to detect the flow of water through a pipe. |
| 3. | Medicine/Medical. an instrument used in auscultation, whereby sounds are intensified through a column of water. |
| hy·dro·phone (hī'drə-fōn') n. An electrical instrument for detecting or monitoring sound under water. |
| hydrophone (hī'drə-fōn') Pronunciation Key
A device used to detect or monitor sound under water. Hydrophones are often installed or towed in arrays that can be used to pinpoint a sound source or provide sea-floor imaging as part of a sonar system. |
hydrophone
device for converting sound waves into electrical signals, similar in operation to a microphone but used primarily for detecting sound waves from an underwater source, such as a submarine. Usually an array of hydrophones is employed to pinpoint the source: the array is connected to an electrical circuit that permits the phase differences of the sound waves at the various hydrophones to be compensated electrically. Thus, the whole array can be "steered" in the direction of the sound source without actual motion of the hydrophones.
Learn more about hydrophone with a free trial on Britannica.com.
drəˌfoʊn