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iiSpook t1_j6hu4ul wrote

Reply to comment by SamtheCossack in TIL that sperm whales are the loudest animal on Earth, and their clicks can literally kill you with sound by g1ucose

Oh, wow, I did indeed assume it was radial. So cool to hear they can actually precisely aim it. I do understand that you can't compare sound waves in water to air directly, I was just asking for a rough ballpark and you did deliver.

Follow-up question out if interest, if you allow. If I was next to one and they aimed the "beam" away from me, would I hear nothing or just a faint noise or something like that?

Thanks for your initial reply.

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SamtheCossack t1_j6hun5b wrote

If you were right next to it, I would assume it would be a very unpleasant experience. The force might be moving away from you, but the water won't stop moving once the sound goes through, and you would get a really nasty shockwave going through your body.

It would probably be a similar level of disorientation to being in a fairly high speed car crash.

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iiSpook t1_j6hv0sl wrote

Damn, that's so cool. Thanks, man.

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