The first use of passive sonar was in 1490 by Leonardo da Vinci, when he put a tube onto water and listened. Active sonar was first used in 1917 by Paul Langevin. The word "SONAR" was created during the Second World War as an acronym for Sound Navigation and Ranging. This acronym replaced the British acronym ASDIC. The word is now thought by many people as a regular word, no longer as an acronym.