If there was an explosion and there was nobody there to hear it, would there be a noise?
79096
No!Because you can not tell . how if there would be nobody nobody could near the noise!
1140623
maybe someone got shot right outside your window while it was raining.. perfect cover\n\nNo, really the different sounds are created by different frequencies and wavelentghs of the vibrations caused by the electricity splitting the air. This can vary from the sonic boom you hear when a F15 crosses Mach 1 .. to the crack noise you hear with a whip. As for the loudness, it is a function of intensity and proximity.. so yea the same lightning will be louder when its closer.. but it could also be a very strong lightning far away.. the way you could tell would be the difference in light and sound... \n\ni hope this helps
9323
Sound is actually just vibrations in atoms and molecules. Our ears are able to decipher these vibrations into sound, if the vibrations are strong and close enough. The laws of the earth are forever constant, so if a tree falls, whether someone is close enough or not, it will cause vibrations in the air and on ground nonetheless. Animals will hear it. There is no sound in space
87332
Because you are sleeping and can't hear them.\n\nSame as a tree falling in the woods.  If you are not there, it didn't make a sound, right?\n\nObviously, the lower the altitude, the more likely you will hear the jet engines.  At night, maybe you are seeing planes flying at 30,000 ft, and thus , not hearing them, or what you hear might blend in with ambient noise in the evening.  But I doubt there is a difference in actual sound perception of the same plane at a given altitude during night or day.
235044
This is a tried and true question of Philosophy.  The way one answers shows how human-centered your viewpoint of the natural world is.\nSound is a phenomenon with definite physical, scientifically testable characteristics, e.g. displacement of air molecules; nevertheless, if a HUMAN is not around to hear the sound, does it count? If there is no eardrum to be impacted by the airwaves, is it even a sound? Well, I would have to say that the first person here today has it right-- this is Yahoo Answers. Anything is possible. Except sound.
78979
None, sound is a wave not a particle. Sound is just a wave of vibrations travelling through atoms.
46211
Of course it does. Sound waves are generated, and just because there is no one to hear does not they don't exist.\n\nIf a bear poops in the woods and no one is there to smell it, does it still stink?
56198
If a tree falls in the forest when nobody is there, . . . does it make any noise? This is a complicated question, that seems simple. It makes a sound, which may or not be noise. Noise is sound that is unorganized, it requiers the presence of someone to make that determination. The same thing holds true for you, when you have somthing to say. In order to get someone to listen to you, someone has to be there listening. While you can't make anybody take the time to listen, there are things that will better your efforts at being heard. When a comic gets up to tell jokes, not everyone laughs. At times everybody laughs, and then there is the joke that dosen't get any response at all. You can take a few lessons from the comic. No, not about telling jokes, but rather about delivery. He has managed to speak to a wide audience. When you speak to large groups, your words will find some willing ears.\nMatt.
115074
No...there needs to be a medium for sound to travel through, considering the Big Bang was the beginning, there would be no 'ether' for any sound waves. Just as we cannot hear any of the large energy bursts from the sun which occur everyday.
760515
depends how loud it was....
293938
well depending on how well it's built, the same thing that would happen to any reactor hear in the US if it core was breached. You would have a radiation leak
832001
YES!!!\n\nPhysically, yes it makes a sound, sound does not need someone to be present for it to exist.  If you're looking for some philosophical answer, this is not the place to ask it.
134593
The subtle differences in atmospheric pressure at ground level will not contribute to changes in sound waves. Although this is a viable concept because sound is a wave and the atmospheric pressure will change its progression through that environment, thus changing the sound and if our ear is in the same pressure the interaction upon our ear as well.\n\nI suspect other noises act as a source to drown out the airport noise at certain time and not at others. For example, in a crowded mall ever notice how hard it is to carry on a simple conversation with someone next to you, however in a quiet room you can hear you dog let gas go! Sound waves combat other sound waves, and the strongest will win. Strongest being in most cases the one closest to you.
1015439
Actually, no it doesn't. The sound you hear is actually vibrations in your ear that your brain converts to noise. So if there are no living creatures with ears and brains around to 'hear' it, it does not make a noise...just some air vibrations going all over the place.
358369
Quite simply, yes.  I have some authority on this subject, as I used to be an acoustics consultant.\nWhen the eardrums are subject to this kind of assault, they can take a long time to recover after the sound has stopped.  A typical reaction is a ringing in the ears, which take literally take hours to fade away.  During this time, other sounds may not be clear.\nContinued / repeated exposure to excessively loud noise can result in the ears never being able to return to their 'normal' level - i.e. a level of deafness.\nIf people want to show off their cars, they could have some spectacular artwork painted on it.  This is something people could admire, instead of being subjected to ridiculous blasts of unwanted noise that really will produce the risk of deafness for the occupants. <End of rant>
280004
very very dangerous, the explosion could be very very bad  also acetelyne would explode with just the tinyest spark
1057541
Well, that would depend on your point of view.  Since there was no universe in existence before time zero, you would have to be inside of the rapidly expanding newborn universe.  Therefore, inside, there would've been extreme heat and pressures.  My guess is that you wouldn't have noticed any sound as you were boiled away into your constituent atoms.  So, I'm thinking a silent and dark time (as your eyes would've also been boiled off, so there would've been nothing to see with).