Of our many senses, the ability to hear sound has got to be one of the best. Whether we’re listening to a beautiful arrangement of music or hearing the roar of a car as it speeds by, sound helps us enjoy the beauty of nature and keeps us safe from impending doom. But there’s so much more to sound than our own sense of hearing. For instance, some animals like dolphins use it to get information about the world around them using echolocation. Curious to hear more about sound? Here are 25 Randomly Cool Facts About Sound (You Won’t Believe Your Ears!)
The bones of the middle ear - the hammer, anvil, and stirrup - help transform pressure waves into mechanical vibrations.
Source: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/waves/edl.cfm Alarm systems transmit sound at around 1 to 3 kHz. That frequency range is both very sensitive for human ears and creates a black spot for our sound location ability.
Source: http://www.physics.org/featuredetail.asp?id=75 Musical sounds are uniform vibrations, while noises are irregular vibrations. Musical sounds distinguish themselves through pitch, loudness, intensity, quality, and timbre.
Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/physics/physics/sound The speed of sound is about 1,130 feet per second in dry air at 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Source: http://www.bluebulbprojects.com/measureofthings/results.php?comp=speed&unit=fts&amt=1130&sort=pr&p=1 A healthy young human ear can hear all frequencies from 20 to 20,000 hertz.
Source: https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ChrisDAmbrose.shtml In contrast, a dolphin can hear and produce sounds up to 150 kHz which is 150,000 hertz. This means that there are several sounds dolphins make that humans can't even hear. They use different sounds regularly for echolocation.
Source: http://www.dolphincommunicationproject.org/index.php/the-latest-buzz/field-reports/bahamas-3/bahamas-2000/item/93032-how-well-can-dolphins-hear People who have Superior Canal Dehiscence can experience a symptom where they hear their body sounds at high levels, including hearing their own eye movements.
Source: https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589934662§ion=Signs_and_Symptoms Due to the Doppler Effect, a musical piece traveling twice the speed of sound would be in correct time and tune but only backwards.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/2mggku/til_that_due_to_the_doppler_effect_a_musical/ Whether it's an orchestra or a heavy metal band playing music at 120 dB, both will undoubtedly damage your hearing.
Source: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/fun-sound-facts/ Since particles are closer together in water than air, sound can travel four times faster in water.
Source: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/572-sound-on-the-move Horror filmmakers use infrared sound to induce anxiety, sorrow, and even heart palpitations.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/24083243 People hate the sound of their own voice on a recording because we hear ourselves differently in our own heads.
Source: http://time.com/4820247/voice-vocal-cords/ Active noise-cancelling headphones use destructive interference to cancel out incoming sound, erasing the sound waves altogether.
Source: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/audio-music/noise-canceling-headphone3.htm If you clap in front of Chichen Itza's El Castillo pyramid, the echo will sound like a chirping bird.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/2piehv/til_that_if_you_clap_your_hands_in_front_of/?ref=search_posts Old television remotes used an aluminum rod and a hammer to make a sound above human hearing to change the channel or the volume.
Source: http://www.pushclicktouch.com/blog/?p=107 Astronomers located a black hole 250 million light years away by making a B Flat note 57 octaves below middle C.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/universe/black_hole_sound.html A British scientists discovered elephants are terrified of bee sounds and will flee when they hear them.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-15836079 It's estimated that making a sound at 1,100 decibels would completely destroy the universe in a black hole.
Source: https://curiosity.com/topics/at-this-many-decibels-a-sound-would-destroy-the-universe-curiosity/ Because electric cars are very quiet, they are required to have artificial sounds for safety reasons.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/16/13651106/electric-car-noise-nhtsa-rule-blind-pedestrian-safety Sound can't travel through space because there aren't any molecules to vibrate.
Source: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/space-environment/1-is-there-sound-in-space.html In 1883, a volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa produced sound which shattered windows, shook homes, and were reported to be heard 160km away from the explosion. The atmospheric shock waves it created traveled 7 times around the Earth before it dissipated.
Source: http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/historical-eruption-sounds Pistol Shrimp produce an extremely loud pop to stun their prey. The pop sound reaches 218 decibels which is louder than a gun shot.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1085398/Deadly-pistol-shrimp-stuns-prey-sound-loud-Concorde-UK-waters.html Blue whales can make deep sounds up to 188 decibels and can be heard 500 miles away.
Source: https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/whales/blue_whale.htm Research in psychoacoustics helps us understand how sound affects our psychology and nervous system.
Source: http://thepowerofsound.net/psychoacoustics-defined/ Even if you aren't recording sound on a video recording, researchers at MIT found they can recreate a voice solely by the small vibrations of the things in the video recording.
Source: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/the-video-microphone-is-your-candy-wrapper-tattling-on-you Lists Going Viral Right Now
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