2006-07-25 11:58:52 · 27 answers · asked by Geri_Red 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Why can you hear the ocean when holding a seashell to your ear?
The most likely explanation for the wave-like noise is ambient noise from around you. The seashell that you are holding just slightly above your ear captures this noise, which resonates inside the shell. The size and shape of the shell therefore has some effect on the sound you hear. Different shells sound different because different shells accentuate different frequencies. You don't even need the seashell to hear the noise. You can produce the same "ocean" sound using an empty cup or even by cupping your hand over your ear. Go ahead and try it and vary the distance at which you place the cup near your ear. The level of the sound will vary depending on the angle and distance the cup is from your ear.
Noise from outside the shell also can change the intensity of the sound you hear inside the shell. You can look at the shell as a resonating chamber. When sound from outside enters the shell, it bounces around, thus creating an audible noise. So, the louder the environment you are in, the louder the ocean-like sound will be.
2006-07-25 12:01:09 · answer #1 · answered by ndtaya 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is actually the ambient noise from around you. The seashell captures this noise, which resonates inside the shell. The size and shape of the shell has some effect on the sound you hear. Different shells sound different because different shells accentuate different frequencies. Even without a seashell, you can hear the noise. You can produce the same "ocean" sound using an empty cup or even by cupping your hand over your ear.
If you try it and vary the distance at which you place the cup near your ear. The level of the sound will vary depending on the angle and distance the cup is from your ear.
Noise from outside the shell also can change the intensity of the sound you hear inside the shell. You can look at the shell as a resonating chamber. When sound from outside enters the shell, it bounces around, thus creating an audible noise. So, the louder the environment you are in, the louder the ocean-like sound will be.
2006-07-25 13:38:20 · answer #2 · answered by ideaquest 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Let me explain, the most likely explanation for the wave-like noise is ambient noise from around you. The seashell that you are holding just slightly above your ear captures this noise, which resonates inside the shell. The size and shape of the shell therefore has some effect on the sound you hear. Different shells sound different because different shells accentuate different frequencies.
You don't even need the seashell to hear the noise. You can produce the same "ocean" sound using an empty cup or even by cupping your hand over your ear. Go ahead and try it and vary the distance at which you place the cup near your ear. The level of the sound will vary depending on the angle and distance the cup is from your ear.
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2006-07-25 12:03:23 · answer #3 · answered by andy14darock 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do not hear the ocean in a shell. You hear a modified version of the sounds around you. Try putting your ear in a cup or any object with a hollow interior and you will hear the same oceanic sound.
TRY IT!
Oceanic sounds in a shell is fantasy it what you tell a child to give him or her something to dream about and expand their bound imaginations.
2006-07-25 12:08:13 · answer #4 · answered by Don Dameon 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You can because of the Rotation of the shell, it takes time for the echo to go in and out so it is in there for a while like in movies when they are in a round echo room and somebody screams out hello you hear it over and over its like that after a while a shell shouldn't make that noise if it does you are just thinking it is
2006-07-25 12:02:59 · answer #5 · answered by Dum Spiro Spero 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is due to filtering of environmental sounds, and is definitely not associated with body-produced noises (such as blood flow). This can be proven by trying the experiment in a sound-proof room -- there is no "ocean" sound.
2006-07-25 12:51:29 · answer #6 · answered by q w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your not actually hearing the ocean. Your listening to the inside of your head or something like that. I forgot what i learned about that.
2006-07-25 12:02:30 · answer #7 · answered by tecumshea200 2 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Because the soul of the ocean remains in the deepest spaces within the shell.
2006-07-25 12:01:59 · answer #8 · answered by The Grand Inquisitor 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
It is not the ocean, but the sound of blood inside your head.
2006-07-25 12:04:13 · answer #9 · answered by WhatAmI? 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
What you are hearing when you put a large seashell up to your ear is just the surrounding noise around you being magnified.
2016-03-13 21:40:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋