^ I assume those are Helmholtz resonances. The problem with ear defenders is that you often can feel very low frequencies through your body as well.
Anyone on here ever experience 'The Hum'?
- Thread starter TrickyDickie
- Start date
I've heard the Sun hum ... and bong:
Do we see The Hum as a phenomenon, or as a combination of many completely unrelated phenomena?
As a city-dweller, I have heard dozens of hums and I have identified like half of them. For example, I have identified hums coming from transformers in old equipment or other electric stuff, old audio equipment that amplifies the mains hum, old fluorescent lights, new expensive LED bulbs, headphones with subwoofer plugged in a computer while a bad audio cable is plugged in the mic (I was so pissed about the general problem I started a bitch/advise thread here; still haven't replaced all the cables and one still buzzes). The unidentified ones I have attributed to fridge or dishwasher of the neighbours, and our own dishwasher. The weirdest was last month, except it wasn't a hum but a shriek – a medical thermometer died, and started producing high-pitched noise that lasted for more than two days, which was audible even from inside the trash can behind a closed door; it took me one hour to find the thermometer in the first place, and nobody believed me the sound was there. I suspect this was a batch of trash that totally creeped the waste disposal people out.
Last week I ran into a beetle species that sounded like a diesel chainsaw, literally – there were actual chainsaws on the site cutting trees, but the workers were in a break, so it took me some time to realise the sound was coming from the grass and not the work. I could have misidentified it, cause I didn't see the beetle. But I've encountered it before.
Transformer stations make some intense buzz, but the ones near my location are enclosed in buildings that mostly or fully hide it.
However, my theory for sounds with no apparent source is an acoustic telescoping effect. Those are generally insane, I happen to reside in at least two buildings that have a corner that amplifies everything said from a distance and behind walls, and it is profoundly creepy. A combination of rock formation and an outdoors transformer station can focus a horrific buzz on you without you ever knowing where it is coming from. And just general buildings, rocks reflecting the sound may be enough.
I thought about mirrors because I get daily occurrences of unexplained sources of light. Most are window reflections, but some aren't. It's bizarre, because the shadows from objects on the balcony is intense, and the light is barely a point that blinds you, without a clear idea of where. I suspect the equivalent for sound would be freaky as hell.
You have:
- Gigantic transformers that buzz that are everywhere where there's electricity.
- AIrplanes that rumble and are also everywhere.
- I'm not mentioning road traffic for obvious reasons.
- House hold items that make noises behind your back.
- Wind that makes all sorts of noises other than whistling (thunderous sound is my favourite).
- Wildlife that makes unanticipated sounds.
And those are amplified by all sorts of objects that reflect, focus and transmogrify those sounds. I'm surprised it's not everybody that hears a hum from something.
ETA: My desktop PC makes a deep rumbling/hum noise that is audible only at the door frame at the other side of the room, and not when standing next to the PC itself. Well, used to make it, it stopped when I replaced the hard drives with Green models with lower RPMs.
As a city-dweller, I have heard dozens of hums and I have identified like half of them. For example, I have identified hums coming from transformers in old equipment or other electric stuff, old audio equipment that amplifies the mains hum, old fluorescent lights, new expensive LED bulbs, headphones with subwoofer plugged in a computer while a bad audio cable is plugged in the mic (I was so pissed about the general problem I started a bitch/advise thread here; still haven't replaced all the cables and one still buzzes). The unidentified ones I have attributed to fridge or dishwasher of the neighbours, and our own dishwasher. The weirdest was last month, except it wasn't a hum but a shriek – a medical thermometer died, and started producing high-pitched noise that lasted for more than two days, which was audible even from inside the trash can behind a closed door; it took me one hour to find the thermometer in the first place, and nobody believed me the sound was there. I suspect this was a batch of trash that totally creeped the waste disposal people out.
Last week I ran into a beetle species that sounded like a diesel chainsaw, literally – there were actual chainsaws on the site cutting trees, but the workers were in a break, so it took me some time to realise the sound was coming from the grass and not the work. I could have misidentified it, cause I didn't see the beetle. But I've encountered it before.
Transformer stations make some intense buzz, but the ones near my location are enclosed in buildings that mostly or fully hide it.
However, my theory for sounds with no apparent source is an acoustic telescoping effect. Those are generally insane, I happen to reside in at least two buildings that have a corner that amplifies everything said from a distance and behind walls, and it is profoundly creepy. A combination of rock formation and an outdoors transformer station can focus a horrific buzz on you without you ever knowing where it is coming from. And just general buildings, rocks reflecting the sound may be enough.
I thought about mirrors because I get daily occurrences of unexplained sources of light. Most are window reflections, but some aren't. It's bizarre, because the shadows from objects on the balcony is intense, and the light is barely a point that blinds you, without a clear idea of where. I suspect the equivalent for sound would be freaky as hell.
You have:
- Gigantic transformers that buzz that are everywhere where there's electricity.
- AIrplanes that rumble and are also everywhere.
- I'm not mentioning road traffic for obvious reasons.
- House hold items that make noises behind your back.
- Wind that makes all sorts of noises other than whistling (thunderous sound is my favourite).
- Wildlife that makes unanticipated sounds.
And those are amplified by all sorts of objects that reflect, focus and transmogrify those sounds. I'm surprised it's not everybody that hears a hum from something.
ETA: My desktop PC makes a deep rumbling/hum noise that is audible only at the door frame at the other side of the room, and not when standing next to the PC itself. Well, used to make it, it stopped when I replaced the hard drives with Green models with lower RPMs.
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Right now, I am thinking natural world as modifier / deflector / amplifier of sound.
Sound begins at the source and then different orientations of hills, buildings, trees, etc causes the sound to pass through a 'chamber', in effect, almost like a musical instrument and comes out amplified at the destination or outlet of the 'instrument'.
Sound begins at the source and then different orientations of hills, buildings, trees, etc causes the sound to pass through a 'chamber', in effect, almost like a musical instrument and comes out amplified at the destination or outlet of the 'instrument'.