Does sound exist if there is no one around to hear it?

Answer 1

That's like saying does my apartment exist when I'm not in it? Of course it does!

Answer 2

"Sound: A vibration in an elastic medium at a frequency and intensity that is capable of being heard by the human ear. The frequency of sounds lie in the range 20–20 000 Hz. Vibrations that have a lower frequency than sound are called infrasounds and those with a higher frequency are called ultrasounds.

Sound is propagated through an elastic fluid as a longitudinal sound wave, in which a region of high pressure travels through the fluid at the speed of sound in that medium."


So, I'd say like this: the vibration that causes the hearing of a sound exists definitely, even if there is no one to perceive it. But in order for this vibration to be called a "sound", you need a receiver, that interacts with the external "thing" (the vibration), treats it as a stimulus, and then interprets the stimulus as a sound.
On the other hand, now that we know which *things* are capable of being interpreted as sounds, we call "sounds" the hearer-independent vibrations themselves. After all, when it comes to sound vs image, you don't say that the sound has *appeared* later than the image (of a plane, a lightning etc.), but that the sound has *travelled* to you - slower than the light - , which means that you assume that there *was* a sound even before you have heard it.

Answer 3

Hmmm....sounds like " If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?" Well, look at another example, the mighty whale. It could be the only one in the north Atlantic at a particular moment, but it still sings its song even though no one is around to hear it. Many weeks later that very sound is picked up by another whale half-way around the world. So at the very instant the sound was made for others to hear there was on one around, and yet the sound was made and traveled. So Yes, sound is made because it is not dependent on the audience.

Answer 4

Yes. Sound is actually waves of different pressure traveling through air (or water in some cases). These waves will exist if there is a disturance (for example someone clapping or a treeing falling in a forest) even if nobody is around to hear it.

Answer 5

For sound to originate from a person the vocal chords are stretched which causes minute friction which is nothing but energy converted to sound for this energy to transfer their requires the need of a medium which in your case is air, therefore the sound exists whether you hear it or not.

Answer 6

Sound Waves, which are longitudinal waves, that vibrate particles in the air. If there is a sound waves not in the vicinity of people, the sound is still there, but no one can hear it. One of the definitions of sound (dictionary.com) is

any auditory effect; any audible vibrational disturbance

it doesn't define sound as having to be heard to be a sound.

Answer 7

Yes. Sound is a physical phenomenon. It is a vibration in the air. The air vibrates whether there is anyone to hear it or not.

Answer 8

Yes

Answer 9

COME ON GUYS. I HAVE HEARD THIS QUESTION SINCE I WAS A CHILD AND THE ANSWER HAS NOT CHANGED. JUST BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE AROUND TO HEAR IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT DOESNT MAKE A SOUND.

Answer 10

of course it exists, there is reflection from the walls and if the sound is on an open ground still it exists