So by firing radio pulses through the overlying sheet and recording the return echoes, scientists can plot both the depth of the rock bed and - by definition - the thickness of the ice covering.

BBC: Antarctic ice volume measured

In this case, building a recording studio brings no immediate or quantifiable return.

FORBES: Connect

Software companies manage their earnings, in part, by shipping products to wholesalers and recording this as revenue, even though the wholesalers are able to return software unsold, and often do.

ECONOMIST: Computer software