Science Fair Project help needed

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drquest

drquest

Golden Member
Apr 18, 2001
1,148
7
81
Everyone,
It's Science Fair time and my daughter is doing a project about sounds people don't like to hear.

We narrowed the list down to four. Which seems rather a short list, but we decided to not go down the path of including disgusting sounds, someone getting sick etc... so the list is fairly conventional.

What I need is your time and your vote. Please follow the below link and vote for the sound that bothers you the most. I've included some examples of the sounds as well.

http://www.youngtropolis.com/holdyourears/

If you guys would help out that would be great.

Thanks everyone!
 
M

Mr. Pedantic

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2010
5,027
0
76
You should have added the mosquito whine. That bothers the hell out of me.

I thought the chalkboard one was pretty lame. It doesn't really have that screeching tone of sound that gets on people's nerves. So I voted none.
 
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marvdmartian

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2002
5,444
27
91
Hey, if you play all 4 at the same time, it sounds pretty cool!! :awe:

I used to have so much fun freaking people out with the fingernails on the chalkboard thing. So many people hate that, it doesn't bother me in the least! :twisted:
 
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Matthiasa

Diamond Member
May 4, 2009
5,755
23
81
4 but only because the nails on the chalkboard sound wasn't even close to what it should have been....

Oh and metal on glass is worse then any of those listed, as is that stupid mosquito sound someone else mentioned.
 
S

seepy83

Platinum Member
Nov 12, 2003
2,132
3
71
I bet there's a high correlation between voters that are parents and the Baby option.
 
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Matthiasa

Diamond Member
May 4, 2009
5,755
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Well to be fair the sound a baby makes is a survival thing, designed so that it can be ignored.

Oh and who were the people that were bothered by the low frequency wannabe chalkboard sound.
 
Rubycon

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
126
You want a crazy sound?
Close mike a nearly empty squeeze catsup bottle! A 20+ cm condenser mic with no low frequency cut engaged. Record 24 bits 96kHz for best quality. I was stunned by the sound through my UE10s. Tried it through a large PA with over 30kW of large subs and the air was pulsating. Imagine a sphincter the size of Mount St Helens farting like a mad horse and you get the idea. :biggrin:

If you slow it down the low frequencies become infrasonic and if you have the means to reproduce this it will blow the house down!
 
Rubycon

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
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I can record it but have no place to host files currently. :(

I guess I could add it to a video file and put on my youtube channel.
 
Last edited:
Rubycon

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
126
Matthiasa said:
That is not what a chalkboard sounds like though. :(


Yeah. :)
Though youtube has a special way of destroying sounds. :(
Click to expand...

I find the video quality is affected much more than the audio quality. It really depends on the codec used and the bit rate. Simulated flatulence does not need much in the way of "preservation of timbre". ;)
 
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Matthiasa

Diamond Member
May 4, 2009
5,755
23
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Rubycon said:
I find the video quality is affected much more than the audio quality. It really depends on the codec used and the bit rate. Simulated flatulence does not need much in the way of "preservation of timbre". ;)
Click to expand...

Well was gonna just be destroying everything but the video in this case doesn't matter. :p

And yeah true. :p

Oh but would also need the youtube channel or video name (if or when made) since umm yeah. :(
 
Jeff7

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Matthiasa said:
4 but only because the nails on the chalkboard sound wasn't even close to what it should have been....

Oh and metal on glass is worse then any of those listed, as is that stupid mosquito sound someone else mentioned.
Click to expand...
:eek: Oh god....

Here's one: Fingernails on the rough underside of ceramic cookware, or on shower tile.



Rubycon said:
Imagine a sphincter the size of Mount St Helens farting like a mad horse and you get the idea. :biggrin:
Click to expand...
Well then.....there's an image.

"Huge....sphincter.
Should've sent...poet."
 
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Matthiasa

Diamond Member
May 4, 2009
5,755
23
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Umm less electricity on suggestively named items?

Electricity hurts even a hand cranked generator can cause spasms... or it did when I attached it to my arm and then cranked it after removing what it was lighting up. :p

So I was bored in one of my physics classes.
 
Rubycon

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
126
Matthiasa said:
Umm less electricity on suggestively named items?

Electricity hurts even a hand cranked generator can cause spasms... or it did when I attached it to my arm and then cranked it after removing what it was lighting up. :p

So I was bored in one of my physics classes.
Click to expand...

Was that like one of those Western Electric hand crank magnetos? Those produce enough volts to fire a glow lamp (80+ VAC) and do shock rather uncomfortably.

Not as bad as a Ford Model T coil though.

The modern HV experimenter is using flybacks. All are pretty dangerous in the hands of the careless experimenter.
 
IronWing

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
72,852
33,912
136
How is this poll science? By selecting a some sounds your daughter has made some observations about annoying sounds. What is the hypothesis being tested? How does the poll gather data necessary to validate/invalidate the hypothesis? Does the hypothesis include a reasonable physical mechanism connecting the hypothesis to the outcome of the poll?

I'm not trying to be a prick, really. When I judged a science fair a few years ago the panel of judges ran into this issue over and over again where opinion polls were presented as science. Opinion polls can be well constructed and statistically valid but that doesn't make them scientific.
 
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Matthiasa

Diamond Member
May 4, 2009
5,755
23
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Well it could light a light bulb, and google shows that it looks sort of similar.
Not really sure though. Was high enough voltage that the few chose to had to crank it themselves and of course the lawsuit prevention warning that it shouldn't be attached in such a way so that current would go through the heart.
 
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