When a tree falls in the forest do your eyes see it fall first or do you hear the sound first?
2007-01-18 04:49:35 · 6 answers · asked by in LOVE with... 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
Sight. That's a fundamental scientific principle---light travels faster than sound. That's why you see lightning before you hear thunder.
If you are far enough away from the tree when it falls, you will see it first, and then hear it. The difference is slight, so when you are close to an event (like a tree falling), your brain does not recognize the difference and you perceive both the sight and the sound at the same time.
2007-01-18 04:52:00 · answer #1 · answered by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, lets consider some options....
If it is the middle of the day, and you are 1000 feet away from the tree in question. We are also assuming that on this particular day there is zero to no wind, thus your hearing would not be impared due to enviornmental conditions.
You have a visual on the tree, and it begins to fall.
Lets do some math here: the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum. One meter roughly equals 3.28084 feet. Roughly translated, the light reflecting off of the tree falling 1000 feet away would hit your retina in approximately
0.000000103965 seconds.
OK, now for the sound aspect. Because the speed of sound varies greatly depending on the environment, we will assume the same environment as our speed of light calculation. Lets assume we are at sea level, at a temperature of ~70 degrees F.
Speed of sound is agreed to be approx. 344 meters per second at that elevation and temperature.
More math: 344 meters / sec is 1128.60896 feet / second, which means the compression waves that the tree would produce would strike your eardrum in 0.88604 seconds.
In other words, at just 1000 feet away you could distinguish that you saw the tree fall before you heard it.
If we bump these figures out to 10,000 feet it becomes clear. You would probably have to use some binoculars to see the tree fall, and it would have to be a very non-windy day, but the math would look like this:
Time taken to see tree fall: 0.000001016703 seconds
Time taken to hear tree fall: 8.8604 seconds
Why? Because the speed of light is 871489 times faster than the speed of sound.
So, if a tree falls in a forest, you will see if first.
If it is night time, couldn't help ya.
2007-01-18 13:24:21 · answer #2 · answered by quiglyd 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have to say, according to your example, you would see it first, then hear it, then FEEL it!
Generally, Sight is the most prominent & sensitive of our senses! Think about first impressions on anything - or when you see an attractive person and then they speak and you cringe! Like Melanie Griffin or Anna Nicole Smith or Mike Tyson or Charo or Shaq!
2007-01-18 12:55:43 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok i think i have a very good example for you
have you ever watched fireworks?
im sure you have so since you will always see the explosion first and the bang comes a second afterwards so this means that sight travels faster then sound
2007-01-18 13:42:54 · answer #4 · answered by Cody Y 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course sound...sound sent a message to sight to see
2007-01-18 12:58:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sight...
At a track meet, your eyes see the smoke from the starter's pistol before you hear the report.
2007-01-18 12:58:37 · answer #6 · answered by stuart gilmore 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋