Monday, April 25, 2016

LOUDEST SOUND EVER HEARD? (It's Not Your Neighbor's Dog)

Krakatoa


On August 27, 1883 the volcanic island of Krakatoa erupted with sound so loud that it was heard over 3,000 miles away.  Anyone hearing the explosion at a distance of 3,000 miles was actually receiving the audio about 4 hours after the event (4.689 seconds for sound to travel 1 mile at speed of sound).  The speed of sound is about 25% faster than the speed of a tsunami wave, so anyone hearing the explosion had a brief window of time to escape the deadly waves that killed more than 36,000 people.  Of course, hearing and understanding are two very different things.

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