Can stalagmites record sound?

Question

My English Lit. teacher (who's also head of the dept.) told me that he heard about a year ago that scientists had found that the development of stalagmites and stalactites was influenced by sounds in the cavern, that the developing layers were soft enough to be compressed by sound waves, and that this meant that they might potentially record sound - in theory allowing us to hear ancient conversations.

If this is true, it's some of the most exciting news I've ever heard. However, I can't find any references to this idea. Has anyone else heard of this and can provide me with references?

Answer 1

Far fetched! Anything, not just stalagmites, are influenced by sounds around them. For something to become a permanent record, it must happen only once! Record the sound and then become hard enough not to be changed by any other sound!

Answer 2

Perhaps and that does sound like very exciting news indeed--what's more, it actually could make sense.

Have you heard that scientists had this idea that clay disks--ie. plates--could record sound? This would basically work the same way CDs do. You see, the stylus of the radio traces grooves on the CD surface, the movements of the stylus are transmitted back to the radio, converted to electric signals, these are played by the radio--sound!--which is basically made of vibrating air molecules.

So, yes, there is a precedent for wonderful and wacky ideas. Well, the stalagmites possibly could record sound; soundwaves might have created imprints on the soft rock--grooves--and if we can trace a stylus on the them, we might get sound.

Perhaps not exactly like a CD: grooves on surface and all, maybe through surfaces? layers?

If we can convert the 'symbols' on the layers of rock into electrical signals, we could translate them to electrical signals.

Furthermore, this could work as different soundwaves have different 'shapes'--different amplitude for different volumes, different timbre for different sound qualities.

I hope we hear more from them. Thanks for the question.

Answer 3

It is quite possible that the vibrations from, say a nearby waterfall in a cave may cause water droplets to favour one direction when running down a growing stalactite in the same way a draught of air can do, however the growth rate of a stalactite is so infinitesimally small that there is no possibility that the rapid vibrations of sound could be recorded.

Answer 4

Sounds interesting but I never hard of that before & I cant understand how it would be possible. Its lit an episode of CSI Miami where a myrder took place while a guy was doing pottery. There was a twig touching the rotating clay & apparently the vibrations of sound caused by the talking murderer (confession) was recorded in the clay. They were able to get the sound out of the pot & they convicted the killer. Really far-fetched if you ask me!

Answer 5

Mythbusters on the discovery channel tested the "sound recoding onto pottery" myth and proved it false. I can think of no mechanism for sound to be recorded onto a stalagmite. There is nothing there to record the sound with (usually sound is recorded through a groove or scratch, like on a record) and with the slow growth of a stagalamite and inaccessible environment, it seems highly unlikely. i just hope no one broke on off to test this.

Answer 6

Interesting hypnotizes, but I would question the scientific background of your "English Lit." teacher and of what source "he heard" was and source?
I have a difficult time even with an imagination of such a theory!
Always question the source of the information, but I always try and keep an open mind

Answer 7

If a ceramic toilet bowl can record sound, we are all in trouble!