Definition
A highly directional microphone mounted at the focal point of a parabolic (dish-shaped) reflector. The curved reflector collects sound waves arriving from the direction it is aimed and concentrates them onto the microphone element, allowing distant or faint sounds to be picked up clearly while sounds from other directions are largely rejected.
Plain English
A microphone placed in front of a curved dish that focuses sound from one direction onto the mic, so it can hear sounds from far away while ignoring noise from the sides and behind.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft noise testing, airport noise surveys, and situations where a specific sound source needs to be recorded from a distance.
Derivation
From the Greek parabolē, meaning a comparison or a curve formed by slicing a cone parallel to its side. The shape is called a parabola, and a parabolic dish has the useful property of focusing parallel incoming waves onto a single point — which is where the microphone sits.
Why Pilots Care
A parabolic microphone can help measure or identify aircraft noise from a specific direction, which matters in noise testing, airport planning, and some maintenance investigations.
Analogy
Like cupping your hand behind your ear to hear someone across a noisy room — the curved surface gathers sound from one direction and channels it inward.
Intuition Check
Do not think of it as a microphone that makes sound “parabolic.” The parabolic part is the shape of the dish that gathers and focuses the sound.
Example Sentence 1
Investigators used a parabolic microphone to capture engine sounds from the aircraft during a high-speed taxi test conducted across the airfield.
Example Sentence 2
During noise surveys the team aimed the parabolic microphone at departing aircraft to record individual signatures without interference from other traffic.