Can Our Voices Really Be Stored in the Atmosphere?

[EngWiPy]

Hello,

I heard someone talking about something that our voice is stored somewhere in the atmosphere? Is this true?

Regards

 

[berkeman]

Hello,

I heard someone talking about something that our voice is stored somewhere in the atmosphere? Is this true?

Regards

Sounds like a crackpot, or they are pulling your leg. Can you post a link to some credible information?

 

[Chi Meson]

No, not our voice. Every breath you take will contain some of the atoms and molecules exhaled by every person and animal that ever lived*.

*Sort of. It takes 1000 to 2000 years to be assured that all the air of the planet has been thoroughly mixed. But pretty much, every exhaled breath from every living creature prior to that time has been mixed completely and evenly across the globe, and therefore, with every breath we are breathing what they breathed out in every breath.

But the voices are waves through the air, and this energy dissipates completely into chaotic random motions of molecules.

 

[protonchain]

Yes it is stored under

C://Atmosphere/Creatures/Platypuses and Humans/Humans/Voices_all(TechnoRemix).mp3

Hope that helps.

 

[Kronos5253]

Yes it is stored under

C://Atmosphere/Creatures/Platypuses and Humans/Humans/Voices_all(TechnoRemix).mp3

Hope that helps.

Platypuses and Humans! Damn! I knew it was one of those...

And here I was looking through /Hippos and Rhinos...

And also:

No, not our voice. Every breath you take will contain some of the atoms and molecules exhaled by every person and animal that ever lived*.

*Sort of. It takes 1000 to 2000 years to be assured that all the air of the planet has been thoroughly mixed. But pretty much, every exhaled breath from every living creature prior to that time has been mixed completely and evenly across the globe, and therefore, with every breath we are breathing what they breathed out in every breath.

But the voices are waves through the air, and this energy dissipates completely into chaotic random motions of molecules.

I did not know that.. That's actually a pretty, well, disturbing fact there. Thanks Chi lol

 

[berkeman]

Yes it is stored under

C://Atmosphere/Creatures/Platypuses and Humans/Humans/Voices_all(TechnoRemix).mp3

Hope that helps.

It's stored in a file on your local hard drive. Okay, give me a minute...

 

[Office_Shredder]

Yes it is stored under

C://Atmosphere/Creatures/Platypuses and Humans/Humans/Voices_all(TechnoRemix).mp3

Hope that helps.

It's actually C:\Atmosphere\Creatures\Platypuses and Humans\Humans\Voices_all(TechnoRemix).mp3

 

[EngWiPy]

No, not our voice. Every breath you take will contain some of the atoms and molecules exhaled by every person and animal that ever lived*.

*Sort of. It takes 1000 to 2000 years to be assured that all the air of the planet has been thoroughly mixed. But pretty much, every exhaled breath from every living creature prior to that time has been mixed completely and evenly across the globe, and therefore, with every breath we are breathing what they breathed out in every breath.

But the voices are waves through the air, and this energy dissipates completely into chaotic random motions of molecules.

When I first heard this, I immediately said that the voice fades with distance. But do you have a source about this subject?

 

[berkeman]

When I first heard this, I immediately said that the voice fades with distance. But do you have a source about this subject?

A source for the breath thing, or for the sound propagation thing? Hopefully you're asking about the former.

 

[EngWiPy]

A source for the breath thing, or for the sound propagation thing? Hopefully you're asking about the former.

I need a reference about the whole subject, wether it is true or not.

 

[berkeman]

I need a reference about the whole subject, wether it is true or not.

The sound propagation thing is definitely not true. You can use google or wikipedia or any simple intro physics text to find explanations of how sound works and propagates. To believe otherwise is nonsensical.

On our breathing pterodactyl bad breath, well, Chi is going to provide you with that link.

 

[Moonbear]

I think Chi is pulling your leg a little bit. Afterall, air molecules don't always stay in the air over such long periods of time, and other molecules can get added. So, it's really just as possible that you're breathing molecules formed from pterodactyl poop as from pterodactyl bad breath.

 

[Office_Shredder]

Well, here's some rough work on the topic

http://rsloan.newsvine.com/_news/20...that-once-traveled-through-the-lungs-of-jesus

 

[Chi Meson]

I think Chi is pulling your leg a little bit. After all, air molecules don't always stay in the air over such long periods of time, and other molecules can get added. So, it's really just as possible that you're breathing molecules formed from pterodactyl poop as from pterodactyl bad breath.

The idea was a thought experiment I got from Paul Hewitt, the Teacher's Teacher. This was a simple demonstration of orders of magnitudes, really. There are about as many molecules in one lung-full of air as there are lung-fulls of air in the atmosphere (about 10^21, or 10^22, depending on who's lung you use.)

When you exhale, the molecules begin mixing and recombining. Give it enough time (is 1000 years enough? I don't really know) and all the atoms/molecules will be evenly mixed throughout the entire atmosphere, and the probabilities approach 1:1 that you will inhale at least one atom that was exhaled by any human of 2000 years ago.

It will take some time before I have this verified. Just started my control group of CO2 yesterday. A heck of time tagging those suckers.

Edit: just saw OS's link. They had 10^23. Whatever.