• Question: In theory when we talk no sound comes out its just weird vibrations. Am I right? Or do we actually give out a sound?

    Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Lynne Thomas

      Lynne Thomas answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Sound is basically just a series of vibrations through the air and your ear is a complex organism which interprets what you are feeling as a sound. So a sound really is just a name for something that we experience. There is no sound in a vacuum because in order for sound to travel, there has to be a medium to transport the vibrations which is usually air for us, but can also be water which is why you can still hear things when you are under water in a swimming pool but it sounds a bit different!

    • Photo: Daren Fearon

      Daren Fearon answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      You are correct, sounds we produce by talking are vibrations in the air and we “hear” thanks to how the vibrations interact with little bones inside our ears. These vibrations are converted by nerves and sent to the brain to be interpreted into what we think of as sound. Which poses the question if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to “hear” it does it make a sound? Here is a guy with a rather jazzy bow tie offering his explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA4LwzIs9H0

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