yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Can Opera Singers Shatter Glass? | StarTalk


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

All right, another question. Michael Bruce from Mountain View in California. Is it a myth that opera singers can shatter glass by singing high enough?

I've not seen it done, but I don't see why it wouldn't be possible because there's certain frequencies that are called resonant frequencies in other objects.

And have you ever done this?

Go up to a tree that's way thicker than anything you would think of toppling. Okay, and then you just start pushing.

If there is a rhythm with which you can push a tree that pumps the tree in exactly the motion that you would originally set it to do, it's the same thing as pumping when you're on a swing.

It's how you can just put yourself into motion without touching anything. You sort of swing your legs right at the right moment; that will add to that motion.

Then you tuck your legs back right at the right moment. So you can do this to a tree, and you will hit a resonant frequency of the tree. And if you do this enough, you can actually snap a tree in half.

And so, did you say you try it fast?

Yeah, oh yeah, I do it all the time. It's fun. No, no, no, I don't do it to the point where I kill the tree, but it's fun to just watch this pumping.

It's literally physics. In physics, we call it pumping. You're pumping a system in the resonant frequency of the system itself. The system wants to sway at that rate.

Now, if you pump it in exactly that way, all that energy stays there, and then the tree starts blowing, waving in the breeze. And it's a sense of power over nature. I did this; I still do it today.

So, somebody's vocal cord, somebody's voice, right? So, you get an object that has a resonant frequency.

Can a human voice reach it at a high enough volume, and then it'll start vibrating?

Okay, if it's at the resonant frequency, and if you can vibrate it with enough energy at that frequency, the glass is not going to be able to stay with you, and you'll just crack it.

Cool?

Yeah, yeah, so that, so yes, it's possible.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

More Articles

View All
What is artificial intelligence
In this video, we’re going to talk about what artificial intelligence even is. So to start with that, let’s just break down these words: artificial and intelligence. We could start with intelligence. What does that mean to you? Well, for most of us, we a…
The Decline in Drug Research | Breakthrough
The interesting thing about bing drugs is that the bands are supposed to reduce recreational use. We’re not sure they do. They stop people perhaps talking about it, but they don’t stop recreation. But what they do do is they stop research. We know that s…
Chinese Imperial Dynasties | World History | Khan Academy
In other videos, we talk about some of the truly ancient Chinese dynasties: the Shang Dynasty, the Joe Dynasty. As we get to the end of the Joe Dynasty, China falls into chaos in the Warring States period, which is a really tough time for China. But the s…
Bankrupt by 28: Why Dave Ramsey lost MILLIONS in Real Estate
What’s up you guys? It’s Graham here. So here’s a very familiar sounding story about someone who got his real estate license at the age of eighteen, began investing in real estate in his early 20s, amassed a four million dollar real estate portfolio with …
AI Can Literally Lend You a Hand #kurzgesagt #shorts
AI can literally lend you a hand, but hands are complicated. If your hand were a video game character, you’d need 27 buttons to control it. Millions of possible button combinations need to be translated to a robotic hand in real time, with as little delay…
How To Get Rich In The 2024 Market Reversal
What’s up, Graham? It’s guys here, and 2024 is going to be out of control for investors. Like, just consider that in the last 12 months, the S&P 500 has already increased by a whopping 26% and broken through all-time highs. The housing market surged n…