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

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

But would the sound your "heard" be the actual noise, or just the unintelligible garble of your eardrums being ruptured? If the latter, then it would be correct.

I interpreted the question to be asking whether the knowledge of a compression wave having hit the ear could ever not be known before the wave itself kills the victim. If we're talking about processing the sound, then that takes the brain considerably longer, and may indeed take longer than the time it takes to be killed.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

I interpreted the question to be asking whether the knowledge of a compression wave having hit the ear could ever not be known before the wave itself kills the victim. If we're talking about processing the sound, then that takes the brain considerably longer, and may indeed take longer than the time it takes to be killed.

So, taking both concepts together, you'd probably "feel" the sound but die before actually hearing (knowing) the actual noise it was making? Makes sense. Weird to think about, though.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

So, taking both concepts together, you'd probably "feel" the sound but die before actually hearing (knowing) the actual noise it was making? Makes sense. Weird to think about, though.

Something like that. In any case, you wouldn't have time to contemplate the workings of the auditory nervous system, or indeed why someone decided to set you up the bomb, before being splattered.

A sound so loud that it will kill you is not a sound anymore, it's a very powerful shockwave, ie. something a huge explosion would cause.

Originally Posted by Marvo

A sound so loud that it will kill you is not a sound anymore, it's a very powerful shockwave, ie. something a huge explosion would cause.

Cockroaches can hear and process sounds much louder than 200 dB.

Originally Posted by Marvo

A sound so loud that it will kill you is not a sound anymore, it's a very powerful shockwave, ie. something a huge explosion would cause.

Not unlike a regular low-intensity impulse sound, but on a much greater scale. A shockwave can still be regarded as a tremendously loud sound who's initial oscilation is the most intense (initial being the actual first "bang" of the shockwave), since sound is nothing more than how we percieve variation in air pressure. Is that correct?