Just an interesting tidbit regarding low frequency sound and it’s ability to harm-
Zookeepers noticed delocalized pain in their bodies whenever
handling an agitated elephant. Subsequently, scientists discovered that elephants, when angered, often emit sounds at very low frequencies, (appropriately termed ‘infrasound’), which can feel painful to humans due the fact that internal organs exhibit resonance at those same frequencies.
Of course, the US Army responded by enlisting a bunch of elephants as part of a special military unit. Army officials eventually scrapped the project when they considered the expense of properly outfitting a unit of elephants with BDU’s and ALICE packs that fit.
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Here’s a website that describes very briefly the phenomenon described in the OP: Elephant Infrasound
Another site mentioned that male elephants seem to use the “infrasound” for finding fertile females, and families of elephants can coordinate their movements (sound can purportedly carry over 30 square kilometres). Other land mammals that use this method are hippopotami (OK, maybe not really a land mammal) and rhinoceroses, but the latter two don’t use it as much, perhaps because their social groups aren’t as complex as the elephant one.
I learn something new every time I visit the SDMB.
Though enlisting elephants may be a bit far-fetched , you can be sure that our military, in its quest for the ultimate weapon, has referred to the academic sector’s research data on bioacoustics…
As far as a reference goes…information on the topic abounds; an interesting article with solid background info can be found at: FindArticles.com | CBSi
Beyond that, if you want to pursue a more in-depth survey of the topic, I’d suggest a search on any of the key phrases in the article at: http://www.google.com
In the 1977 Mel Brooks film High Anxiety, Dick Van Patten’s character, an employee of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, is murdered through exposure to loud sound. He bares his soul to Nurse Diesel (Cloris Leachman) and indicates to her that he will no longer go along with their nefarious plan to keep rich people imprisoned as supposed loonies while using their money. He wants out, he tells Nurse Diesel, and is terminating his employment immediately. He will never, of course, spill the secret. “I know you won’t,” says Nurse Diesel. “I know you won’t,” she repeats ominously. Later, he’s driving away from the Institute when he turns on his radio for relaxation. However, a very loud rock piece comes on. He tries to turn down the volume, but the volume knob breaks off. The music just gets louder and louder until he’s forced to pull over and try to get out of the car. But the doors won’t open, and he can’t even roll down the windows. He tries valiantly to break the windows by kicking them out, but unfortunately he finally succumbs to the ever-increasing volume of the rock music. As we see his lifeless form, blood is dripping from his ears. He has presumably also suffered internal injuries.
In the movie the rock piece was apparently without lyrics, but in the novelisation the lyrics went, in part: “Love me, baby! Make me bleed!.. Love me, baby! Make me die!!”
Here in the UK a chap called Jimmy Cauty (a former member of the 90s rave group KLF) got into trouble with his local police after he fitted a 25,000+ watt sound system to the back of a Saracen armoured car and “test fired” it in a field down in Devon.
Apparently this caused cattle to stampede and brought all sorts of complaints from local farmers.
There are quite a few references to this in the British press, but here’s where I got my info…
(search for “KLF” - the article is about 1/2 way down the page)
