Can you hear that?
Yeah, me either.
But apparently the Earth is humming right this very moment!
Hey listeners, Julia here for DNews
In the 1970s an inexplicable hum plagued thousands of people in the city of Bristol, England.
While some people brushed it off as nonsense, others claimed it caused headaches and nosebleeds.
Eventually the noise was blamed on local factories, but not everyone was satisfied with this explanation.
In the spring of 1991 a similar low frequency buzz annoyed residents of Taos, New Mexico,
attracting lots of media attention.
It’s never been fully explained.
Other cities around the world have heard the hum.
It’s estimated that only 2% of the population can hear it.
Some hear a constant hum, others hear a noise like an idling diesel truck somewhere in the
distance.
Some suggest a government conspiracy a-la the episode “Drive” of the X-Files, where
extremely low frequency sounds were being emitted from a U.S. Navy antenna.
Others think it’s some sea creature, similar noises heard by residents living in houseboats
were traced back to large schools of fish.
While most officials are quick to point a finger at industrial sources like factories,
it doesn’t explain away the hum all the time.
Especially when it’s a world wide hum.
Seismologists, scientists who study the mechanical properties of the Earth, noticed some strange
readings in the 90s.
Unexplained low-frequency readings showed up on seismographs.
Too low for human ears, in the range of 0.01–10 Hz.
Early explanations for the noise pointed at variations in atmospheric air pressure.
One study published in the journal Nature found that the Earth undergoes constant oscillation.
The daily energy of this oscillation is about the same as a magnitude 6.0 earthquake.
Yet it happens on days when there are no earthquakes to blame.
WHAT IS GOING ON.
Now science is one step close to finding an answer.
In a recent study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters one possible
source of the noise: ocean waves.
The researchers used computer modeling to examine wind and waves.
They found that its the movement of giant slow moving waves that cause the Earth to
constantly vibrate.
These giant waves put enormous pressure on the sea floor which makes seismic waves.
These waves could create vibrations with a frequency of 13-300 seconds, or as long as
it takes for it to reach the ocean floor.
The hum is far too low for human ears, but one of the leading scientists of the study
told the Huffington Post "If you played it at 10,000 times the speed you could hear 'white
noise' like an old TV set between channels."
So that’s what the Earth sounds like.
Speaking of hearing things…. ever wondered if you can hear sound in space?
Check out this great video where Trace finds the answer.