Sound Postcard

Posted: July 6, 2022

Credit: Michael at: https://aquariumbreeder.com/ 

What is the loudest animal in the world? Most of us might think of sperm whales (233 dB), blue whales (188 dB at 160 km) or howler monkeys (88 dB), but the pistol and mantis shrimp’s broadband claw snap has been measured at up to 219 dB, making them the loudest animal for their size (less than two ounces). Using cavitation bubbles, which also emit sonoluminescence, these shrimp direct 7232 °F, 100 km/hr sound bubbles (called burbles) toward their prey, usually centimeters away.  

Cavitation, per Merriam-Webster, is the formation of partial vacuums in a liquid by a swiftly moving solid body (such as a propeller) or by high-intensity sound waves

To learn more: 

https://use-jp.org/USE2010/proceedings/USE09/pdf/1P6-8.pdf

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/whats-the-loudest-animal-relative-to-its-size/

https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/snapping-shrimps-silenced-as-seas-acidify-study/

http://thescienceexplorer.com/universe/how-sound-turned-light

https://indie88.com/fact-check-is-the-sperm-whale-the-loudest-animal-on-earth/