General Question

elbanditoroso's avatar

If everyone in a town of 100,000 people went outdoors and shouted something at the exact some moment, and did so for a minute, how far away could the sound be heard?

Asked by elbanditoroso (33157points) November 3rd, 2019

My guess: not very far, because the human voice has limited broadcast range and multiple people shouting has nothing to with distance.

Is that right or wrong?

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7 Answers

stanleybmanly's avatar

It must vary with the acoustics. Think of a crowd at the ballpark when the homerun blasts over the fence.

Patty_Melt's avatar

I hear the kids when school lets out, about five blocks away. They represent only a small percentage of that number.
It would be a cool test to try, if one could find an entire city to agree.
I think of normal city sounds, though, and how far away can we hear that? Even emergency vehicles can be heard only so far.
Sound is vibration, and differing sounds would, to some extent, cancel each other out.

Can I assume your question is inspired by “WE ARE HERE WE ARE HERE!”?

cookieman's avatar

I’d like to know what 100,000 people could agree on to shout simultaneously.

Patty_Melt's avatar

The Who’s.

elbanditoroso's avatar

@Patty_Melt actually, no. I live less than a mile from a high school. On Friday nights I can hear the sounds of the marching band at half time. And if there is low cloud cover, sometimes the audience cheering. But the high school stadium only seats a couple thousand people.

I was wondering about the effect of a larger, synchronized group.

Patty_Melt's avatar

Like I said, it would be an interesting test to perform.
Find a willing city, and give it a go.

Coolhandluke's avatar

I don’t have that answer but, at night when everything is calmer – in the country you would hear them much farther than the day time. I lived in the country all my life. At night I can hear a train blow its horn from about 12 miles away. Even further I’d imagine. That’s also being heard through lots of trees and over and around hills.

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