8 ms·

So the sound got harder to hear as you were farther away, but what if you were at the exact antipode on Earth? Would it have been audible at all?

aatish 12y ago
The sound was only audible up to 3000 miles in radius, or about 1/13th the globe. It wasn't audible in the other side of the Earth (although it was detectable.)
- stromgo 12y ago
  He mentioned the "exact antipode on Earth", so he's probably thinking of an effect similar to antipodal chaotic terrain [1]. The fact that sound was only audible up to 3000 miles in radius is not enough to rule it out, you need other arguments. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloris_Basin#Antipodal_chaotic_terrain_and_global_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloris_Basin#Antipodal_chaotic... ("It is thought by some to have been created as seismic waves from the impact converged on the opposite side of the planet.")
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
ars 12y ago
Assuming it was powerful enough to get there, you would hear it. At the antipode you would feel an identical pressure wave from both side. This would manifest as compression which you would feel since you are compressible. A flag would not move in either direction (i.e. the wave is canceled out), but there would still be a compression wave in it. Like imagine hitting a piece of wood with two hammers simultaneously.
rspeer 12y ago
Something that makes this extra intriguing: the exact antipode of Krakatoa seems to be in an inhabited area on the banks of the Rio Magdalena in Colombia. I wonder if anyone was there at the time to notice a pressure wave coming from all directions.
- junto 12y ago
  Its in a huge valley if that has any bearing.
hmsimha 12y ago
I suspect that due to variations in the earth's surface, and fluctuations in pressure due to things like air currents (and to a lesser extent perhaps even natural and man-made formations) the shock wave didn't travel uniformly in all directions, and wouldn't have been audible from the antipode.

aatish 12y ago

The sound was only audible up to 3000 miles in radius, or about 1/13th the globe. It wasn't audible in the other side of the Earth (although it was detectable.)

stromgo 12y ago
He mentioned the "exact antipode on Earth", so he's probably thinking of an effect similar to antipodal chaotic terrain [1]. The fact that sound was only audible up to 3000 miles in radius is not enough to rule it out, you need other arguments. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloris_Basin#Antipodal_chaotic_terrain_and_global_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloris_Basin#Antipodal_chaotic... ("It is thought by some to have been created as seismic waves from the impact converged on the opposite side of the planet.")
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

ars 12y ago

Assuming it was powerful enough to get there, you would hear it. At the antipode you would feel an identical pressure wave from both side. This would manifest as compression which you would feel since you are compressible. A flag would not move in either direction (i.e. the wave is canceled out), but there would still be a compression wave in it. Like imagine hitting a piece of wood with two hammers simultaneously.

rspeer 12y ago

Something that makes this extra intriguing: the exact antipode of Krakatoa seems to be in an inhabited area on the banks of the Rio Magdalena in Colombia. I wonder if anyone was there at the time to notice a pressure wave coming from all directions.

junto 12y ago
Its in a huge valley if that has any bearing.

hmsimha 12y ago

I suspect that due to variations in the earth's surface, and fluctuations in pressure due to things like air currents (and to a lesser extent perhaps even natural and man-made formations) the shock wave didn't travel uniformly in all directions, and wouldn't have been audible from the antipode.