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Saturday 19 July 2014

Solving The Worlds Problems: #1 The Sound of Trees

There's a lot going on in the world right now.

Most of it bad stuff.

From wars in the middle east, climate change,1980's sex pests and those bizarre one sided trunks that idiots insist on wearing.

It's time then, for somebody to stand up and take charge of the situation and put the worlds problems on a table and sort it all out once and for all.

That somebody is me!

We will start with the age old query of "IF A TREE FALLS IN THE WOODS AND NOBODY IS AROUND TO HEAR IT, DOES IT MAKE A NOISE?"

A quick search around the internet will offer you loads of answers raging from YES to NO.

But that's not good enough. What we need is some SCIENCE!

Here we go...

Sound is described by Wikipedia thus: 

"In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as a typically audible mechanical wave of pressure and displacement, through a medium such asair, and water. In physiology and psychology, sound is the reception of such waves and their perception by the brain."



When the tree falls and connects with the ground, the forces involved cause all the particles and molecules in the area to move. It's all about kinetic energy.

Imagine, if you will, a very sweaty tramp getting on a bus. As he sits down everybody near him will shuffle out of the way so they don't have to smell his grubby armpits..... it's a bit like that, but smaller.

These vibrating, or moving, particles of existence travel along in all directions. With each interaction they lose a little momentum and eventually the travelling vibration dissipates to nothingness.

But where does SOUND come into all this?

The answer is YOUR EARS!

Only when the vibrating molecules reach the little hairs (or rather long spidery hairs in my case) in your ear hole does sound begin to exist.

The ear hairs send a signal to your brain which makes you think "Oh I think a tree has fallen over!"

Then and only then does sound exist.

IN SPACE NOBODY CAN HERE YOU SCREAM so said the tag line for the film Alien. That is because space is mainly a vacuum and there are no molecules or even trees to vibrate, crash together and make a noise.

So, to answer the question, IF A TREE FALLS IN THE WOODS AND NOBODY IS AROUND TO HEAR IT, DOES IT MAKE A NOISE? the answer is ....no.

Although smelly bus passengers seem to be everywhere.....


next week: The Chicken and the Egg.

6 comments:

  1. Although I like your thinking Mr H, I am a yes man and therefore think the answer is yes. The reason for this is I am that sweaty tramp on the bus and so I see things from the other side of the tree. I often sleep under a tree and all those moving, particles of existence traveling along in all directions keep me up half the night. . . . . . I am sure it was Spike Milligan who once said. . . . A tree fell on me in Oldham once. . . . . .and with facts like that to back me up I will remain a yes man for now.

    I wait in anticipation to see your chicken and egg.

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    Replies
    1. Yes well, with logic like that how can I argue. Apart from asking "Do you know the way to Oldham?"
      ..
      ...
      ....
      hahahahahahaha

      Delete
    2. Wigan Pier confused me for years.

      But I do know how to Oldham?

      Delete
  2. I finally get it. It seems that I need everything explaining to me with smelly tramp examples. Can you please explain the theory of relativity in these terms please?

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