Non Life Sciences > Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology
Why does Helium make my voice pitch change ?
neilep:
Thanks Chris.....seems I just missed that topic when I joined...and thanks to everybody else for the answer......and presumably it IS safe to breathe too as Cannabinoid mentions.....so, as long as we top up with oxygen we could quite happily survive on a nasal diet of happy helium !...Ta
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
chris:
Actually I've noticed a big boo-boo with this answer. I'll have to sort it out - the answer is not correct. When I have 10 minutes I'll do it.
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
Bert:
I hope Chris has had his 10 minutes to find the problem with the answers so far. Simply saying that the speed of sound is greater so the frequency is higher does not explain the phenomenon. Your vocal chords are vibrating at the usual frequency, so the frequency could be the same, but the wavelength of a note produced could be greater (to make speed = (frequency x wavelength) correct)
neilep:
Thanks Bert
...Yes Chris...at the time of this post,your ten minutes were up over 6 months ago !!!....else, you must really be so attentive that the time you're taking to correct the big boo-boo is a declaration and example of fine dedication....*sigh*, wish I could be this committed to such perfection :-)
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
chris:
Thanks for resurrecting this. Actually, I did go into it, but then used more than my 10 minutes and hence had no time left to write up the correct answer.
In fact the pitch of your voice remains the same when you breathe helium, what changes is the 'timbre' (nothing to do with trees).
This is most noticeable when you sing whilst breathing helium.
When I have 10 minutes (!) I'll dig out a good link to a site that has audible demonstrations and a satisfactory explanation.
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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