Scientists have uncovered the secret of light "voices" of meteors

A team of researchers from Sandia national laboratories in new Mexico found an explanation of the different noises that they hear the people, becoming witnesses of the falling meteor, although due to the large distances they must be heard for a few minutes later. In his article, published in Scientific Reports, the scientists describe experiments on the disclosure of this mystery and their results.

The team began their study with the theory that the noise in fact is made not by the meteor, and nearby objects. They suggested that the bright light generated by a ball of fire, comes in the form of pulses, causes a rapid temperature rise of the air through which they travel. A sharp change in air pressure creates pressure waves, which are converted into acoustic waves when they crash into dielectric materials-converters — heat-absorbing objects such as leaves, hair or even someone's shirt.

To test their theory, researchers studied photos and videos of meteors and made a graph of the intensity of the generated light. Then they calculated the likely acoustic waves that can occur when it is confronted with different objects, and then began to fire light pulses such materials. According to the authors of the experiment, as a result of such light exposure they really heard the sound, which usually tell witnesses that confirms their "photoacoustic hypothesis" to explain the distant sound of the meteors.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»