Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: diverjohn on 04/06/2020 07:54:52

Title: What was the sound I heard when I was shocked by an electric fence?
Post by: diverjohn on 04/06/2020 07:54:52

I got a nasty shock from an electrified fence last month. I was trying to take a photograph of a hazelnut grove shrouded in mist and was so careful to avoid touching the expensive camera to the metal that I failed to look where my head was and got a jolt when my scalp touched the cable. At that moment I heard a distinct "ting", which at first I thought may have come from the wire's reaction to a surge of current. But I wonder now if it was something else, such as an artifact created in the ear when the electricity passed the nerve or organ. Any thoughts? BTW, the Nikon was unharmed.

Title: Re: What was the sound I heard when I was shocked by an electric fence?
Post by: evan_au on 04/06/2020 10:35:24

Could it have been the sound of the spark?
- If the waveform was a pulse decaying with an oscillation, that could make an audible "ting" sound

An impulse into your auditory nerve (or brain) could also produce spurious signals...

Title: Re: What was the sound I heard when I was shocked by an electric fence?
Post by: RD on 04/06/2020 22:46:01

Just hitting a metal fence, (in the absence of electricity), creates an interes-ting sound ...

https://freesound.org/people/jgrzinich/sounds/377970/

In part is due to dispersion ... https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_dispersion