• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Video showing the sound of two black holes colliding is nothing like what people expected

Home> Science> Space

Updated 13:49 4 Jun 2024 GMT+1Published 13:50 4 Jun 2024 GMT+1

Video showing the sound of two black holes colliding is nothing like what people expected

This video is something you have to hear for yourself.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

Despite years of scientific endeavor, we're still learning new things about black holes all the time - they're one of the most mysterious parts of outer space.

While the exact mechanics of these enormous entities are still in many ways unknown, one thing that we're pretty much certain about is that they suck in vast amounts of mass - that's the thing they're probably most famous for, after all.

However, one really rare phenomenon has demonstrated what a black hole sounds like when it hits another black hole - a collision on a truly galactic scale.

This was observed by the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) a few years ago and carefully translated into a sound wave.

The way space telescopes work means we don't have the ability to record sounds from vast distances away - rather, we use the radiation given off by events to interpret them and work out what sound they would have given off.

Advert

Using techniques like these, the LIGO team was able to produce a short sound file that shows what the collision sounded like - a short, dull pop of sorts.

It's a bit like what a firework might sound like if it went off in a closed steel box and you were stood quite far away from it - dull and muted, but still with enough power and brevity to suggest that something pretty major has happened.

When the sound is played at a much higher frequency, it sounds more like a drop of water hitting the ocean - a little plop, which is far more misleading in terms of how mild it sounds.

It's a great reminder of how impressive modern science is that we can hear these noises at all, and a YouTube upload of the sound files has a raft of people commenting under it with suitably awed reactions.

Advert

The video reassured we have 'nothing to fear' when it comes to black holes merging / Caltech / Space Engine
The video reassured we have 'nothing to fear' when it comes to black holes merging / Caltech / Space Engine

One person wrote: "The fact that this single event produced 50 times more energy than all the stars in the observable universe is mind-blowing." That's a pretty crazy fact that they've researched about the collision, but those who know how massive the black holes in question were (each one 30 times the size of our Sun) won't be surprised.

Another person, meanwhile, commented: "The fact that it sounds so harmless is even more terrifying." It's hard to disagree with that, too - the mundane nature of the sound is indeed completely impossible to wrap your head around when you consider what it was actually recording.

So, you can tick one thing off your bucket list - listening to two black holes colliding.

Featured Image Credit: Cosmoknowledge/Youtube
Science
Space
Youtube

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
12 hours ago
15 hours ago
18 hours ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Scientists identify bizarre glitch in the human brain in groundbreaking study

    Science can explain our stubbornness

    Science
  • 12 hours ago

    Doctor breaks down exactly how your body adjusts to weight-loss drug Mounjaro during first month

    The medication works by regulating blood sugar and appetite

    Science
  • 15 hours ago

    Shocking study links use of Ozempic to sudden vision loss and increased risk of rare eye conditions

    Millions of people are now taking the likes of Ozempic and Mounjaro

    Science
  • 18 hours ago

    Terrifying chances that World War Z could happen in real life as a sequel finally moves forward

    The 2013 zombie romp isn't as far-fetched as you might think

    Science
  • Insane video shows humanoid robot's daily routine and it's not what anyone expected
  • NASA astronaut describes exactly what space smells like and it's not what you'd expect
  • Eerie video simulates what lucid dreaming looks like and it's making people emotional
  • Astronauts reveal ‘disgusting’ reality of what space really smells like and it's not what anyone expected