I was curious about the purpose of ultrasound gel. It's really interesting so I built this wave machine to explain how it affects sound. Video produced in cooperation with Merck ( / merckgroup . Merck is known as Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the United States. Here's the link to Ode To The Future: https://curiosity.merckgroup.com/ode-... Animations by Dom Burgess. His brilliant channel, Every Think, is here: / @domburgess CORRECTION: when I calculate the efficiency of the ultrasound scanner without gel I come to a figure 1/10000%. But that would only be if there was a full on air gap. When pressed against the skin the situation is much less dire. The gel ensures a better acoustic coupling by preventing air gaps etc. Thanks to a couple of comments for pointing that out. Thanks to these amazing patrons on Patreon for supporting my channel: Glenn Watson Joël van der Loo Website: https://stevemould.com Patreon: / stevemould Twitter: / moulds Instagram: / stevemouldscience Facebook: / stevemouldscience Buy nerdy maths things: http://mathsgear.co.uk