
A Sound So Loud That It Circled the Earth Four Times (2014) - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times
======
bitcurious
The explosion of Krakatoa is believed by some scholars to be the inspiration
for Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream."

[https://www.skyandtelescope.com/press-
releases/astronomical-...](https://www.skyandtelescope.com/press-
releases/astronomical-sleuths-link-krakatoa-to-edvard-munchs-painting-the-
scream/)

~~~
Insanity
That was interesting to read as well :) Might deserve it's own post on HN imo!

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rexarex
This event led to the discovery of ‘infrasound’ or very low frequency sound
that travels very long distances.

It’s currently still used to detect (above ground) nuclear explosions as part
of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

There is a site in the ‘Windless Blight’ in Antarctica near McMurdo Station
that a couple of techs go dig out and maintain every year. I believe there are
about 30 around the world.

[https://www.ctbto.org/verification-regime/monitoring-
technol...](https://www.ctbto.org/verification-regime/monitoring-technologies-
how-they-work/infrasound-monitoring/)

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red_admiral
I've read in other sources that the force of the main eruption in 1883 was
equivalent to around 100 megatons of TNT. The dust that it ejected into the
atmosphere was not only the cause of the bright sunsets that inspired artists
in Europe over the next few years, but also caused a global cooling by
something like 1 degree (Celsius) for the next two years.

~~~
techsin101
So we can solve global warming?

~~~
smitty1110
It was a temporary measure, and the only volcano I know that would
significantly move the needle is Yellowstone. And I really, really don’t want
that to go off while I’m still alive, I like North America when it’s not
covered in ash.

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vxNsr
This is just insane!! that video where the sound takes 13 seconds to reach the
camera really helps cement the point of the article.

~~~
andyidsinga
I think I watched that video 15 times ... at 4.4km / 2.7miles away those must
be larger-than-house sized chunks of rock falling ! (clearly visible to the
left of the explosion).

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moioci
Just to put a plug in for Simon Winchester's book, Krakatoa: the Day the World
Exploded. If anyone wants to dive deeper in this topic.

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se7entime
"ACTNews, PANDEGLANG – Tsunami hit coastal areas around Sunda Strait in
Pandeglang, Serang, and South Lampung Regencies. The disaster happened on
Saturday (12/22) at 9:27 p.m., Indonesian Bureau of Meteorology Climatology
and Geophysics (BMKG) predicted that the massive wave was caused by underwater
flank collapse after the eruption of Anak Krakatau Mountain as well as the
tidal force caused by the full moon." \-
[https://act.id/en/news/detail/tsunami-hit-pandeglang-
serang-...](https://act.id/en/news/detail/tsunami-hit-pandeglang-serang-and-
south-lampung)

"Anak" = Children/Child of

The Death Toll has reached 373 people, 1.459 wounded and 128 still missing
[https://www.bnpb.go.id/en/tim-sar-gabungan-terus-
menemukan-k...](https://www.bnpb.go.id/en/tim-sar-gabungan-terus-menemukan-
korban-tsunami-selat-sunda-373-meninggal-dunia-1459-luka-luka-dan-128-hilang)

~~~
NegativeLatency
> the tidal force caused by the full moon.

Is that real? Doesn’t seem like it would matter enough. Especially when there
was an eruption, why even mention it.

~~~
goodcanadian
Yes, it's real. Tides are higher around the full moon due to the earth, sun,
and moon being (roughly) aligned. If it was already high tide, adding a
tsunami on top of it is going to be more impactful than at low tide.

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edge17
Regarding magnitude of these types of events, NOAA does amazing work
collecting data on tsunami events with impressive energy simulations. As some
point I had seen several videos from the Chile event in 2010 that showed the
shockwaves traveling around the earth multiple times, but I can't seem to find
those videos now.

Here's a link to one of the videos with an energy plot from the Chile event -
[https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/chile20100227/20100227Chile.mov](https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/chile20100227/20100227Chile.mov)

And the specific Chile event page -
[https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/chile20100227/weblink.html](https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/chile20100227/weblink.html)

If you browse around the site, there is a lot of information for many of the
largest earthquake/tsunami events in recent times.

~~~
edge17
And a youtube link to some more forecast models from the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center's youtube channel

[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd18vQxXt2zNmVDB2NQxV...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd18vQxXt2zNmVDB2NQxV-
lnkL2bZtlLQ)

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TekMol
Does a sound ever stop?

~~~
prmph
Is information ever lost? Not a rhetorical question, I genuinely want to know.
Once the vibration due to a sound become smaller than a certain level, do
quantum effects make it disappear entirely

~~~
TekMol
I find that hard to imagine.

Let's take the information 'The universe exists'. How can that information get
lost? Wouldn't the universe have to disappear for that to happen? I have never
heard about a model of reality where that is a possibility.

~~~
gbear605
I think by information they mean more concrete things. For instance, imagine a
bird landing on a branch. If someone is around to see it, they know that if
happened. If no one is around though, once the bird flies away and the branch
stops shaking, the information that a bird had landed on the branch is gone.

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rcthompson
I wonder whether the sound wave got stronger again as it reached the opposite
side of the globe from the source. Would it have made it back into the audible
range? Maybe not, since I imagine that intervening mountains and such would
disrupt or change the speed of the waves.

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andyidsinga
my ears almost hurt reading this:

> The British ship Norham Castle was 40 miles from Krakatoa at the time of the
> explosion. The ship’s captain wrote in his log, “So violent are the
> explosions that the ear-drums of over half my crew have been shattered. My
> last thoughts are with my dear wife. I am convinced that the Day of
> Judgement has come.”

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brian-armstrong
This must be the article so interesting it landed on HN Front Page Four Times
:)

