Scientific Fact in Fairytale Fiction — part 2.
by friver ~ October 24th, 2008. Filed under: Strange & Funny News, Strange Technology News.
Most of us are far more familiar with Disney’s The Little Mermaid than we are with the original, altogether sadder version first penned by Hans Christian Andersen. As it turns out, the wicked witch of the undersea world, Ursula, didn’t really need to rely on a curse in order to steal Ariel’s lovely voice.
Theoretically, it is entirely possible to keep sound waves from escaping. Working around the methodology which allows light waves to be bent, a professor at prestigious Duke University theorizes that it is possible to do the same to sound waves, thereby stopping them from ever being heard.
The really spooky thing is that sound waves trapped in such a manner, be it by invisible shield or technical contraption, will never escape. That makes me think of being trapped in some sound shielding bubble with my own thoughts — and having to exist forever with my own sound waves as well, echoing forever with nowhere to go.