Posted on 04/17/2008 11:07:31 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Earth gives off a relentless hum of countless notes completely imperceptible to the human ear, like a giant, exceptionally quiet symphony, but the origin of this sound remains a mystery.
Now unexpected powerful tunes have been discovered in this hum. These new findings could shed light on the source of this enigma.
The planet emanates a constant rumble far below the limits of human hearing, even when the ground isn't shaking from an earthquake. (It does not cause the ringing in the ear linked with tinnitus.) This sound, first discovered a decade ago, is one that only scientific instruments - seismometers - can detect. Researchers call it Earth's hum.
Investigators suspect this murmur could originate from the churning ocean, or perhaps the roiling atmosphere. To find out more, scientists analyzed readings from an exceptionally quiet Earth-listening research station at the Black Forest Observatory in Germany, with supporting data from Japan and China.
Different types
In the past, the oscillations that researchers found made up this hum were "spheroidal" - they basically involved patches of rock moving up and down, albeit near undetectably.
Now oscillations have been discovered making up the hum that, oddly, are shaped roughly like rings. Imagine, if you will, rumbles that twist in circles in rock across the upper echelons of the planet, almost like dozens of lazy hurricanes.
Scientists had actually expected to find these kinds of oscillations, but these new ring-like waves are surprisingly about as powerful as the spheroidal ones are. The expectation was they would be relatively insignificant.
New thinking
This discovery should force researchers to significantly rethink what causes Earth's hum. While the spheroidal oscillations might be caused by forces squeezing down on the planet - say, pressure from ocean or atmospheric waves - the twisting ring-like phenomena might be caused by forces shearing across the world's surface, from the oceans, atmosphere or possibly even the sun.
Future investigations of this part of the hum will prove challenging, as "this is a very small signal that is hard to measure, and the excitation is probably due to multiple interactions in a complex system," said researcher Rudolf Widmer-Schnidrig, a geoscientist at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Still, a better understanding of this sound will shed light on how the land, sea and air all interact, he added.
Researcher Dieter Kurrle and Widmer-Schnidrig detailed their findings March 20 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation. . .”
Mixing the cement.
>>It’s the sound of our forefathers spinning in their graves.
LOL
I wonder if their spins change speed according to their dismay?
How fast do they spin when private property is “taken”? Faster or slower than when the gun grabbers crawl out of their holes?
Things that make you go, “Hmmm ...”
“The entire planet is a Helmholtz sphere with its characteristic resonant frequency of about 8 Hz.”
And it’s children, (us), resonate at that very same frequency.
Food, (or vibration) for thought.
This discovery should force researchers to significantly rethink what causes Earth's hum. While the spheroidal oscillations might be caused by forces squeezing down on the planet - say, pressure from ocean or atmospheric waves - the twisting ring-like phenomena might be caused by forces shearing across the world's surface, from the oceans, atmosphere or possibly even the sun.Gosh, I had no idea that the oceans and atmosphere could "push down". I kinda figured they were just part of the Earth itself. ;') Thanks NormsRevenge, this is pretty fascinating. I'd post a link to J. Marvin Herndon, but I've been foolin' around online too much today. :') Unlike most days (yeah, right).
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I knew it...it is Rove's weather machine. Therefore it follows that it must be Bush's fault!
I just went into a dark, quiet closet to listen for it...I sat quietly for almost an hour...I began hearing an extremely soft tune...it was hauntingly familiar...
"I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony..."
.
It’s the voice of Gaia, pleading with us to stop our destructive behaviors.
(or, She’s just meditating — O...O...O...O...M...M)
I thought her name was Dynamo.
You!!!
Go to your room!!!
8-)
Luke 19:40 To whom he said: I say to you that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.
I told a lefty that I had the solution to the energy crisis. Of course he was intrigued.
I said that since congress just passed restrictions on what lightbulbs we could use in our houses,
we could hook up generators to the founders spinning in their graves.
He had to think about it for a bit, then just gave a semi-polite chuckle.
“I told a lefty that I had the solution to the energy crisis. Of course he was intrigued.
I said that since congress just passed restrictions on what lightbulbs we could use in our houses,
we could hook up generators to the founders spinning in their graves.”
That’s pretty good. Are you one of them nuclear brain plumbers?
Well then what the hell does 'cause I can't get rid of mine!
Oh YOU are a BRAT! I LOVE that one.......
I’m smart enough tho to ........ (won’t say should someone want to test your system..)
:)
Kind of the electronic version of “This Way to the Egress”... :-)
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