Loudest sound(Loudness scale, Noise Level Charts) - an image of a sound volume scale, at the end of which there is usually an exaggerated example of something that, in the author's opinion, is the loudest.

Origin

At the end of August 2017, a Reddit user posted a picture with a volume scale, on which the loudest version was the image of two laughing girls. Two black chiks were written underneath. Thus, the author made fun of the loudness of black girls, especially if they are united in pairs.

The original scale image is from the ChartValley website, which provides various charts and graphs. On it, the author changed only the last picture, and in this form the meme began to spread over the English-speaking Internet.

It is worth noting that similar memes have already existed before. In 2016, a meme based on a typical infographic with decibels was popular abroad.

Meaning

The Loudest Sound meme mocks things that, under some circumstances, seem too loud. For example, everyone knows the situation when you open a package of chips in a quiet cinema hall, and it rustles terribly loudly. Other examples that have been laughed at in memes include the sound of the Windows screensaver at 2 a.m., the microwave signal, and the screams of 12-year-old streamers.

Gallery

In the early morning hours of August 27, 1883, shepherds in the heart of Australia heard two loud bangs like rifle shots. At this moment, more than 3500 kilometers, in Indonesia between Java and Sumatra, the island of Krakatoa was falling apart and went under water. According to scientists, the catastrophic eruption of the eponymous volcano was the loudest sound ever recorded by mankind. The sound wave from the explosion of Krakatoa circled our planet four times. This does not mean that pops or hums were heard in London, Toronto or St. Petersburg. But in these and dozens of cities around the world, meteorological stations recorded jumps in atmospheric pressure, which repeated every 34 hours for five days - this is how much sound takes to fly around the Earth. Krakatoa no longer exists, and it is not known whether volcanoes capable of producing such an eruption remain, but there are many other sounds in the world of such intensity that they can kill a person on the spot. The loudest of all is told by science journalist Maggie Curt-Baker at FiveThirtyEight. For example, she writes, a living creature that makes perhaps the loudest sound on Earth lives under water - this is a sperm whale. Sperm whales use echolocation to navigate the terrain: using clicking sounds and how they bounce off objects, whales understand what the surrounding landscape is and whether there is prey nearby. According to Jennifer Mixis-Olds, professor of acoustics at the University of Pennsylvania, the intensity of these sperm whale clicks reaches 200 decibels. The most powerful sound of our time is considered to be the sound from the first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle: it is equal to 204 decibels. It would be a mistake to say that a whale can compete with a rocket - due to the different densities of air and water, the intensity of the sperm whale's clicks over the water would no longer be 200, but 174 decibels - however, this volume is enough to rupture a person's eardrums. According to Curt-Baker, approximately this level of sound was recorded in 1883 by the closest barometer to Krakatoa, located 160 kilometers from the volcano. The explosion of a one-ton trinitrotoluene bomb (210 decibels at a distance of 75 meters from the epicenter), the cry of a blue whale (188 decibels) and the sounds produced by dragsters (155–160 decibels) will also be extremely loud for the human ear. The loudest one-time historical event, according to existing estimates, is an air explosion during the alleged fall of the Tunguska meteorite - the sound from it could exceed 300 decibels. It should be understood that people did not hear the sound of the eruption of Krakatoa, although it rolled around the world several times, because its frequency went beyond the limits of the perceived by the human ear, it was in the infrasonic range. The ability of low frequency sound to travel long distances makes it an interesting and important subject for researchers. Thus, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, with the help of 60 observation stations in 35 countries of the world, records infrasound and tracks illegal nuclear explosions. The USArray project measures infrasound across North America to record seismic activity. There are many inaudible sounds around us that can be studied: sensors are capable of detecting thunderstorms going hundreds of kilometers away, “hearing” when mining is being carried out in remote underground mines. According to scientists, two specific sounds constantly interfere with the work of laboratories tracking nuclear tests are microbaromas (infrasonic vibrations generated by the collision of waves in the sea or ocean) and wind, which, by infrasound standards, reaches the same level as a motorcycle engine in audible range. If people heard the constant sound of the wind, they would not be able to communicate with each other. Infrasound, even inaudible, can still seriously affect the human body. Under the influence of infrasound above 110 decibels, people have a change in blood pressure and breathing rate, dizzy and problems with balancing the body begin (it is the ear that is responsible for balance). The experiments of the US Air Force have shown that with a sufficiently intense exposure to infrasound, a person's lungs begin to expand and contract, against the will of their owner, due to changes in pressure. This effect can open up another side of the use of sound: it can be not only a deadly weapon, but also a life-saver if medicine learns to use it, for example, for artificial lung ventilation. Irina Solomonova.

This is the sound

Sound, it would seem, is something harmless. Even the loudest sounds are usually able to make us grimace; less often, after a loud sound, we feel ringing in our ears. However, it turns out that sound can not only cause trouble - it can kill. The loudest sound that scientists were able to create in the framework of military tests (USA) was equal to 210 decibels or 400 thousand acoustic watts. To understand how really loud this sound is, here are a few examples.

The rustling of leaves in the wind is a sound at 15 decibels - it is barely audible. Quite distinct sound is normal conversation, the noise level from which is about 45 decibels. Loud screaming and laughing is already quite noisy (75 decibels).

A subway car passing at a distance of no more than 7 meters emits a sound at the level of 95 decibels. When you are near or inside the helicopter, you can appreciate the sound at a volume of 110 decibels. The jackhammer produces a 120 decibel sound that is almost unbearable to human ears.

Consequences of a loud sound

At a sound of 130 decibels, a normal person begins to have ear pains, this is a noise at the level of a launching jet plane. The sound of a rocket taking off with a power of 145 causes a concussion.

At a sound level of 160 decibels, a person's eardrums and even lung tissue are torn (due to the resonance of sound in the lungs), while a sound of 200 decibels is fatal.

So, the loudest 210-decibel sound, created in 1965, was obtained by reflecting sound waves with a 14 m reinforced concrete test bench and an 18 m deep foundation. The mine was built to test the Saturn 5 rocket in Alabama.

The sound of such power made it possible to drill holes in solid materials, and its echoes were heard within a radius of 160 kilometers from the test area.

Incredible facts

An interesting fact for those who love loud music: sound can kill, but only if it is above 135 decibels.

But there is a sound system at the European Space Agency which makes such a strong sound that "no man can bear it."

The giant sound "mouthpiece" is the most powerful in Europe... If you turn it on at full power, there is practically no chance of survival.

It is part of the Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF), a test chamber where acoustic tests are performed on spacecraft to ensure that no damage occurs during rocket launch.

Very loud sound

The sound check chamber is 16.4 meters high, 11 meters wide and 9 meters deep. There is a huge horn on one of the walls. When nitrogen is fired through the horn, it makes an incredibly powerful sound - more 154 decibels... It's like being next to many jet planes that take off at the same time. This is enough to permanently deprive a person of hearing.

Such sounds can cause damage so severe that used as weapons... Weaker sound waves are released for crowd control, to intimidate burglars, and in counterterrorism operations. These waves cause nausea and discomfort in the person.

Acoustic grenades can cause even more damage - they produce sounds of 120-190 decibels.

According to German studies, an explosion of more than 210 decibels can damage internal organs, leading to injury or death.

Fortunately, the ESA mouthpiece was not designed as a weapon. It is insulated with reinforced walls and only works when the security doors are closed. Epoxy-coated steel walls contain sound and produce an even sound field inside the chamber.

So no one will be able to hear the true power of this system, and if he does, he is unlikely to be able to tell about his experience.

Loudest sound

We hear loud sounds every day, ranging from barking dogs to noise from a construction site. Human pain threshold is 120-130 decibels... Any sound above 85 dB can cause hearing loss, which can be caused by both sound intensity and duration of exposure. Here are the 10 loudest sounds ever produced:

Rock concert - 135-145 decibels

Fireworks - 145 -150 decibels

Shooting - 145-155 decibels

Race car -155 -160 decibels

Spaceship launches - 165-170 decibels

Blue whale - 188 decibels

Eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in 1883 - 180 decibels

1-ton bomb -210 decibels

Earthquake 5 points on the Richter scale - 235 decibels

Tunguska meteorite - 300-315 decibels

Hearing is one of the most important human senses. Through hearing, information is perceived not only by humans, but also by animals. With the help of sounds, they can communicate with each other and transmit information to their enemies. Consider animals that can make the loudest sounds:

The hippopotamus is a very loud animal. Its roar can reach 110 dB. A hippopotamus can make loud sounds not only on land but also in water. Its terrifying roar echoes within a radius of one hundred kilometers.

The sound of a given volume is hardly perceived by a person. From excessive volume, a person may experience ear pain.

In the human world, sound of this loudness is found in airports and train stations.

Even a kilometer from the runway, the noise level from a liner taking off or landing is more than 100 dB.

• 2. Blue whale.

The blue whale is not only the largest animal on our planet, but also the loudest. According to research by American specialists, it is capable of producing sounds with a volume of up to 189 decibels. These sounds can be heard up to 1600 km away.

By the way, sounds with a volume of 180 decibels or more are fatal to humans. Even metal begins to collapse from the sound of such a loudness. For comparison, the shock wave from a supersonic aircraft is 160 decibels, the explosion of a powerful volcano is 180 decibels.

The sperm whale is also not small, and the sounds made by sperm whales can also be very loud, up to 116 decibels. Interestingly, newborn babies of a sperm whale can make sounds even louder than adults. Their screams go up to 160 decibels.

By the way, such a sh for a man the mind is practically intolerable, loss of consciousness is possible, eardrums can burst.

For comparison, when starting jet engines of aircraft or at launching a rocket, the noise level reaches 140 dB, when a salute is fired or during a rock concert next to a powerful speaker, the noise level can reach 150 dB.

• 4. Cicada.

Sounds of about the same volume can be produced by an ordinary small insect called "cicada". Sounds, sometimes reaching up to 120 dB, can be made by male cicadas during the mating season. Such "singing" is not at all to the taste of people living in the immediate vicinity of these insects.

Intense and prolonged exposure to noise of such a loudness leads to headaches, hearing loss, "sound intoxication", aggression and other disorders may develop.

It is known that people working in production with this level of noise suffer from hypertension twice as often as others. According to GOSTs, such a noisy production is harmful.

Hyenas make strange sounds that resemble giggling. These sounds are carried within a radius of up to 10 km. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the sounds made by hyenas can contain important information about the state of the animal.

The elephant's cry reaches 90 dB. Elephants can roar, squeal and trumpet. Through all these sounds, elephants express their emotions: fear, joy, fear, excitement. The sound is carried over tens of kilometers. In addition, elephants are so heavy that when they walk, special vibrations are formed that can be picked up by their relatives at a distance of up to 30 km.

In the behavior of these monkeys, the most interesting choirs at sunrise, which are heard at a distance of 5 km and whose volume exceeds 90 dB. They are performed by males with the support of all other members of the herd, and all other howler monks who are within earshot respond to them. With the help of these calls, the monkeys signal that the territory is occupied and find out the location of each other.

The volume of his roar can reach 87 dB. Its formidable roar spreads up to 8 km. No wonder the lion is the king of beasts.

• 9. Maral.

Maral is a red deer. During the rutting season, male red deer emit a loud roar, somewhat reminiscent of the roar of an elephant. Maral females and cubs also communicate through loud sounds. These sounds are heard in the forest for kilometers. Interestingly, both females and cubs make sounds of exactly the same pitch. For marals, sound communication is very important. Thanks to the voice, the cubs call their mothers, and the mothers are sure to answer them in response. By the voice of marals, they can also determine the mood of their interlocutor: whether he is calm or scared. Thanks to these voice communications of marals, people even had a funny winged expression: when a person hears a loud cry, he can say: "What is this maral's mating cry?"