![]() However, this view began to change when scientists investigated a very slippery kind of fluid known as a superfluid, which flows with virtually zero friction or viscosity. In classical physics, their energy can make matter move back and forth, but they were not thought to possess mass. Sound waves are fluctuations of density within materials. "It's surprising in this day and age that it is still possible to find new results in classical Newtonian physics," said particle physicist Ira Rothstein at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, who did not take part in this study. Still, the finding challenges long-held assumptions about how sound works. "It is a tiny, tiny effect," said study lead author Angelo Esposito, a high-energy physicist at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne. However, these new findings suggest that even in regular conditions that ignore relativity, sound possesses gravitational mass.Īny sound waves on Earth would have extraordinarily weak gravitational effects on their surroundings compared to the effect of the Earth itself, which has a mass of about 6 trillion trillion kilograms. One consequence of this relationship according to Einstein's theory of relativity is that matter traveling near the speed of light will get heavier. One might assume these findings are related to Einstein's famous equation E=mc 2, which revealed that anything with energy could be converted to an equivalent amount of mass and vice versa. Oddly, the findings also suggest the pull is in the opposite direction of the gravitational pull generated by normal matter, meaning sound waves might fall up instead of down in Earth's gravitational field. The inner ear also contains the vestibular organ that is responsible for balance.(Inside Science) - The sound of a sonic boom may produce about the same magnitude of gravitational pull as a 10-milligram weight, a new study finds. The brain then interprets these signals, and this is how we hear. These nerve endings transform the vibrations into electrical impulses that then travel along the eighth cranial nerve (auditory nerve) to the brain. As the fluid moves, 25,000 nerve endings are set into motion. The cochlea is filled with a fluid that moves in response to the vibrations from the oval window. The sound waves enter the inner ear and then into the cochlea, a snail-shaped organ. The Eustachian tube, which opens into the middle ear, is responsible for equalizing the pressure between the air outside the ear and that within the middle ear. The tiny stapes bone attaches to the oval window that connects the middle ear to the inner ear. The three bones are named after their shapes: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup). The ossicles are actually tiny bones - the smallest in the human body. The vibrations from the eardrum set the ossicles into motion. Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate. The sound waves then travel toward a flexible, oval membrane at the end of the ear canal called the eardrum, or tympanic membrane. It collects sound waves and channels them into the ear canal (external auditory meatus), where the sound is amplified. The auricle (pinna) is the visible portion of the outer ear. ![]() Understanding the parts of the ear - and the role of each in processing sounds - can help you better understand hearing loss. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |