# can you imagine the sound of the universe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812 "2003-07-20T23:35:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amoeba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@amoeba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amoeba)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/1 "2003-07-20T23:35:30Z")
if so, what sound did it make? can you descibe it? ---
**Author:** ![Thaumaturge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Thaumaturge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thaumaturge)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/2 "2003-07-20T23:49:20Z")
😕 ---
**Author:** ![Phage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a4c791/32.png) [@Phage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phage)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/3 "2003-07-21T00:19:12Z")
Uh… yeah, it was mostly silent. I think the lack of air got in the way… ---
**Author:** ![amoeba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@amoeba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amoeba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/4 "2003-07-21T00:22:41Z")
B’WOM (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/5 "2003-07-21T00:33:09Z")
OOM (ryme with tomb), as in the meditative mantra is described as all the sounds of the universe, also the sound of no sound, also the music of the spheres (which is the sound of the transparent dome layers of that contain the moon, stars, sun, planets make as they scrap past eachother as they revolve around a flat earth, um… somehow) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/6 "2003-07-21T00:45:42Z")
[Antarctica Hears Little Normal Matter in the Big Bang](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010501.html) You do get sound waves travelling interstellar distances near the center of galaxies. According to [this site](http://www.npl.washington.edu/AV/altvw34.html) a typical speed is ~100 km/sec. Out here near earth, ~30,000 light years from the center, the medium is too thin for much sound conduction. ---
**Author:** ![amoeba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@amoeba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amoeba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/7 "2003-07-21T00:57:55Z")
I love big bangs. especially of the variety that cause catastrophic lightening storms, on a global scale. If you survived that, and emerged from your cave, how would you then enjoy the blast from a nearby star explosion? or will we be ‘not around to perceive that event’. personally if the planet were evacuated and re-seeded in its doom phase, the monkeys would have quite a show. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/8 "2003-07-21T00:59:24Z")
Is there a question with a factual answer here? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/9 "2003-07-21T01:00:44Z")
Eh? Global lightning storms? Caves? ---
**Author:** ![amoeba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@amoeba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amoeba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/10 "2003-07-21T01:03:07Z")
some of the events pertain to replies by squinck, and partly to my own imagination. but at the same time they pertain to events that are a scientific reality, if such a proposition makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/11 "2003-07-21T01:21:17Z")
Apparently, if you visit the Big Bang theatre at the Hayden planetarium in NY, you may > [@](#): > > witness the birth of the universe, while narration, instruments, and gauges describe and monitor the development of the newborn universe. By assigning each particle a pitch, note, period, and frequency, a musical score is produced that allows visitors to hear the musical sound of the universe being born. [here](http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/isaac_asimov_fund.html). Sadly, the sound is not online. There’s a [short description here though.](http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/hayden_000124.html) A slightly more mystical take on the sound of creation may be found here: [A-U-M-Silence… the ancient sound of “OM”](http://www.spiritsound.com/aum.html) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/12 "2003-07-21T01:30:13Z")
Can I imagine it? Yes, I imagine it to be white noise. If you add up all the motions or waves of the universe it’s not likely to have a discernable pattern. I recall some astronomer added up all the _light_ in the universe and got a sort of beige/off-white color. (Though I still don’t understand why that little “result” got so much publicity.) Shouldn’t this be in IMHO? ---
**Author:** ![Eegba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Eegba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eegba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/13 "2003-07-21T03:29:57Z")
If you’re interested in hearing what the universe sounds like when it’s remixed into dance music, there’s always [Dr. Fiorella Tirenzi](http://www.fiorella.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/14 "2003-07-21T04:44:23Z")
1420Hz ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/15 "2003-07-21T12:26:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amoeba \* > \*\*B’WOM (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( \*\* Classic. 🆒 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![aenea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@aenea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aenea)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/16 "2003-07-21T12:38:17Z")
**amoeba** , you sound much like a young fellow I worked with last year. He like to listen to what he called “the sound of the universe” which was basically the white noise that played on the radio between stations. :eek: [sub]THAT lasted all of about an hour here. I can only be so nice about this stuff.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/17 "2003-07-21T13:21:22Z")
I asked a similar question a long time ago, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13982). I’m still curious about it. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/18 "2003-07-21T13:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\*Shouldn’t this be in IMHO? \*\* Although the wording of the question makes it sound like an IMHO sort of thread, I suspect this is really a GQ. I _think_ the question is something like this: **Did the Big Bang really make a noise; and if so, would it be possible to recreate what that noise would have sounded like?** ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/19 "2003-07-21T14:02:36Z")
I did not believe the question was about the big bang. The universe resonates with a “white noise” type noise at 1420Hz So: 1) yes; 2) see above sentence; 3) Hisssssssssssssssssssss ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812/20 "2003-07-21T14:05:06Z")
“Aum is the dial tone of the universe.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-imagine-the-sound-of-the-universe/189812.md?page=2)