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Title: Photoacoustic sounds from meteors

Abstract

Concurrent sound associated with very bright meteors manifests as popping, hissing, and faint rustling sounds occurring simultaneously with the arrival of light from meteors. Numerous instances have been documented with –11 to –13 brightness. These sounds cannot be attributed to direct acoustic propagation from the upper atmosphere for which travel time would be several minutes. Concurrent sounds must be associated with some form of electromagnetic energy generated by the meteor, propagated to the vicinity of the observer, and transduced into acoustic waves. Previously, energy propagated from meteors was assumed to be RF emissions. This has not been well validated experimentally. Herein we describe experimental results and numerical models in support of photoacoustic coupling as the mechanism. Recent photometric measurements of fireballs reveal strong millisecond flares and significant brightness oscillations at frequencies ≥40 Hz. Strongly modulated light at these frequencies with sufficient intensity can create concurrent sounds through radiative heating of common dielectric materials like hair, clothing, and leaves. This heating produces small pressure oscillations in the air contacting the absorbers. Calculations show that –12 brightness meteors can generate audible sound at ~25 dB SPL. As a result, the photoacoustic hypothesis provides an alternative explanation for this longstanding mystery about generationmore » of concurrent sounds by fireballs.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
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  1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov (Czech Republic)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1345579
Report Number(s):
SAND-2015-3780J
Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322; srep41251
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Scientific Reports
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION

Citation Formats

Spalding, Richard, Tencer, John, Sweatt, William, Conley, Benjamin, Hogan, Roy, Boslough, Mark, Gonzales, GiGi, and Spurny, Pavel. Photoacoustic sounds from meteors. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1038/srep41251.
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Spalding, Richard, Tencer, John, Sweatt, William, Conley, Benjamin, Hogan, Roy, Boslough, Mark, Gonzales, GiGi, & Spurny, Pavel. Photoacoustic sounds from meteors. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41251
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Spalding, Richard, Tencer, John, Sweatt, William, Conley, Benjamin, Hogan, Roy, Boslough, Mark, Gonzales, GiGi, and Spurny, Pavel. 2017. "Photoacoustic sounds from meteors". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41251. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1345579.
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@article{osti_1345579,
title = {Photoacoustic sounds from meteors},
author = {Spalding, Richard and Tencer, John and Sweatt, William and Conley, Benjamin and Hogan, Roy and Boslough, Mark and Gonzales, GiGi and Spurny, Pavel},
abstractNote = {Concurrent sound associated with very bright meteors manifests as popping, hissing, and faint rustling sounds occurring simultaneously with the arrival of light from meteors. Numerous instances have been documented with –11 to –13 brightness. These sounds cannot be attributed to direct acoustic propagation from the upper atmosphere for which travel time would be several minutes. Concurrent sounds must be associated with some form of electromagnetic energy generated by the meteor, propagated to the vicinity of the observer, and transduced into acoustic waves. Previously, energy propagated from meteors was assumed to be RF emissions. This has not been well validated experimentally. Herein we describe experimental results and numerical models in support of photoacoustic coupling as the mechanism. Recent photometric measurements of fireballs reveal strong millisecond flares and significant brightness oscillations at frequencies ≥40 Hz. Strongly modulated light at these frequencies with sufficient intensity can create concurrent sounds through radiative heating of common dielectric materials like hair, clothing, and leaves. This heating produces small pressure oscillations in the air contacting the absorbers. Calculations show that –12 brightness meteors can generate audible sound at ~25 dB SPL. As a result, the photoacoustic hypothesis provides an alternative explanation for this longstanding mystery about generation of concurrent sounds by fireballs.},
doi = {10.1038/srep41251},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1345579}, journal = {Scientific Reports},
issn = {2045-2322},
number = ,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41251
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Works referenced in this record:

Instrumentally documented meteorite falls: two recent cases and statistics from all falls
journal, August 2015

Current research on ethnic hair
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Electrophonic Sound Generation by the Chelyabinsk Fireball
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Acoustic analysis of shock production by very high-altitude meteors—I: infrasonic observations, dynamics and luminosity
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Electrophonic Sound Generation by the Chelyabinsk Fireball
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Continued progress in electrophonic fireball investigations
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VLF detection of fireballs
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Theory of the photoacoustic effect with solids
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Current research on ethnic hair
journal, June 2003

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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Developing a Cost-Effective Radiometer for Fireball Light Curves
    preprint, January 2019

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