Thread: Is it possible to be around a sound so loud...

The Mosquito

it's not exactly loud, but the frequency is so high and fast, it goes beyond most people's hearing ability. i don't think this is the answer you were looking for, but it's mildly interesting. there's also been some study done on it's health effects, which might provide a clue to what a sound that's loud and intense might do to you.

if you can't hear the sound itself, the best way to describe it, would--obviously--be like when mosquitos buzz in people's ears.

the guy was trying to do Tesla-like experiments with frequency rather than electricity. i'm not positive on this part, but if i remember correctly he was trying to find sounds that could create intense vibrations, similar to Tesla's earthquake-machine. but came up with this instead.

Originally Posted by acatalephobic

The Mosquito

it's not exactly loud, but the frequency is so high and fast, it goes beyond most people's hearing ability. i don't think this is the answer you were looking for, but it's mildly interesting. there's also been some study done on it's health effects, which might provide a clue to what a sound that's loud and intense might do to you.

if you can't hear the sound itself, the best way to describe it, would--obviously--be like when mosquitos buzz in people's ears.

the guy was trying to do Tesla-like experiments with frequency rather than electricity. i'm not positive on this part, but if i remember correctly he was trying to find sounds that could create intense vibrations, similar to Tesla's earthquake-machine. but came up with this instead.

read OP, "not frequency"
the mosquito is a good thing though, i love it, its at a frequency of somewhere around 16-17KHz i think, and that sound can be heard by young people, but after you get a bit older, you cant hear that frequency. a while ago, my family was over, so there was kids and adults, i played it dead loud and all the kids were all "aaaah!!" and the adults were all "what? i dont hear anything" it was funny

Originally Posted by slash112

i played it dead loud and all the kids were all "aaaah!!" and the adults were all "what? i dont hear anything" it was funny

That's funny.

So when I get older I won't be able to hear mosquitoes? That would be SWEET. There's no more annoying of a sound.

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

That's funny.

So when I get older I won't be able to hear mosquitoes? That would be SWEET. There's no more annoying of a sound.

no, mosquito is the name someone gave to the sound which is 16 or 17 KHz, its just a high pitched noise you can download off the internet, and when you get older you cant hear it because when you get older the range of frequencies you can hear decreases.



i dont get how sound (a wave) can creat pressure

Originally Posted by slash112

i dont get how sound (a wave) can creat pressure

All waves transmit momentum, energy, and pressure in their direction of propagation.

Originally Posted by slash112

i dont get how sound (a wave) can creat pressure

The peaks in the wave are equivalent to positive pressure difference, the troughs in the wave are equivalent to negative pressure difference. If you take the note A (or Concert A as it's commonly known), it oscillates at 440 hertz. That means that the pressure fluctuates (however minutely) 440 times in a second. That's also why sounds needs a physical medium to travel through. Space is a vacuum, so sound does not propagate there. Does that make sense?

Originally Posted by invader_tech

The peaks in the wave are equivalent to positive pressure difference, the troughs in the wave are equivalent to negative pressure difference. If you take the note A (or Concert A as it's commonly known), it oscillates at 440 hertz. That means that the pressure fluctuates (however minutely) 440 times in a second. That's also why sounds needs a physical medium to travel through. Space is a vacuum, so sound does not propagate there. Does that make sense?

You haven't explained why pressure only goes in the direction of propagation. I don't think he will understand.

Originally Posted by invader_tech

The peaks in the wave are equivalent to positive pressure difference, the troughs in the wave are equivalent to negative pressure difference. If you take the note A (or Concert A as it's commonly known), it oscillates at 440 hertz. That means that the pressure fluctuates (however minutely) 440 times in a second. That's also why sounds needs a physical medium to travel through. Space is a vacuum, so sound does not propagate there. Does that make sense?

sound waves do not have peaks and troughs. because they are longitudinal waves.

but neither of you have described HOW they do it, i know drewmandan said it transits momentum, energy and pressure, i didnt know they have momentum, i know they have energy, and telling me they transit pressure still doesnt tell me how they do.

Think about what caused the wave: something had to "push" the air molecules. So that's the source of the pressure. Then the first "row" of molecules moves forward and pushes the second row. But then the first row has to return to its original place, so moves the other way. But meanwhile the second row has moved forward and is pushing the third row, etc.

Originally Posted by slash112

no, mosquito is the name someone gave to the sound which is 16 or 17 KHz, its just a high pitched noise you can download off the internet, and when you get older you cant hear it because when you get older the range of frequencies you can hear decreases.



i dont get how sound (a wave) can creat pressure

have you ever stood in the ocean? same principle except with air.
if you stick a tuning fork in water, the water ripples and jumps and shit. the tuning fork is pushing air around at a specific frequency. when this movement in the air happens, it pushes on our eardrums, which then shoot it through our nerves, to our brain.

a guitar string vibrates, moving air at a high frequency. the vibrations in the air are variations in air pressure. stand in front of a really loud subwoofer and you'll feel sound waves creating pressure on your body. and your ears.

Originally Posted by lysergic

have you ever stood in the ocean? same principle except with air.
if you stick a tuning fork in water, the water ripples and jumps and shit. the tuning fork is pushing air around at a specific frequency. when this movement in the air happens, it pushes on our eardrums, which then shoot it through our nerves, to our brain.

a guitar string vibrates, moving air at a high frequency. the vibrations in the air are variations in air pressure. stand in front of a really loud subwoofer and you'll feel sound waves creating pressure on your body. and your ears.

its alright i understand now. but by the way, using subwoofers as an example isnt a good idea, subwoofers use moters aswell as speakers, so some of the things you can feel could come from the motors movement, so its not a fair test. but i get what you mean anyway.

Originally Posted by slash112

read OP, "not frequency"

oops. apologies.
my mind just went to that because i remembered something about what he was originally trying to do.


...and after thinking about it some more,

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

You eardrums will rupture at 160-185 decibels, so it is possible to never hear the sound that killed you.

...that is tremendously unsettling to think about.


Is it possible a sound destroy something more solid than us? like rock?

...wait, best not to think more about it, lest someone come up with the idea to invent something like that. *shudder*

you'll get to the point where it's less "sound" in the traditional sense, and more "blast wave"