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from the we-thought-it-was-only-us-hearing-strange-noises dept.
According to Wired.co.uk, the source of the Earth's 'humming' noise may have been found:
A strange bell-like ring emitted by the Earth has left oceanographers confused for decades, but a new study may have found an explanation.
The low-frequency sound, which is inaudible to human ears but can be detected by seismic instruments, has frustrated scientists since the 90s. Theories suggested everything from electromagnetic radiation to earthquakes and secret military operations might be to blame. Although the sound is almost certainly too faint for humans to hear, some people claim to be plagued by a "tinnitus"-like noise -- including many residents of Bristol in the 70s, who said the sound caused headaches and even nosebleeds.
Link to research paper.[abstract only]
(Score: 2) by kbahey on Tuesday April 21 2015, @01:55PM
Southern Ontario installed lots of wind turbines in recent years.
This has divided the rural communities that the wind farms are in. Some make money from the turbine on their property. Others have complained about noise. Some have claimed that their cattle had nose bleeds (amazingly similar to the summary quoting Bristol residents).
The medical community said emphatically and repeatedly that there are no adverse health issues beyond noise from the turbine, but the detractors are not convinced.
Here is a link to the Wind turbine documentary [tvo.org] (may play only in Canada).
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning [2bits.com].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @02:56PM
I dunno about cows but definitely not so good for bats: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wind-turbines-kill-bats/ [scientificamerican.com]
As the wind moves through a wind turbine's blades, pressure drops behind them by five to 10 kilopascals (a pascal is a unit of pressure), and any bat unlucky enough to blunder into such an undetectable low pressure zone would find its lungs and blood vessels rapidly expanding and, quickly, bursting under the new conditions.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday April 21 2015, @04:00PM
How is this different from when bats blunder into other sources of pressure differential, like, frex, the wind generated at the mouths of caves??
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @06:07PM
No idea, perhaps pressure differences isn't as strong at caves that bats like.
I found it strange and interesting anyway :).
See also: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3614180.stm [bbc.co.uk]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 21 2015, @09:38PM
Bats have sonar. They are aware of other stuff in the air.
Even for flying critters that don't have sonar, wind power is way, Way, WAY down on the list of dangerous stuff.
Chart 1 [wikipedia.org]
Chart 2 [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [thinkprogress.org]
-- gewg_