If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear does it make a noise? I believe that is does because the other option is just too (there's no other word for it) weird. Galileo disagrees with me, as does the rest of the scientific world. The reason I mention Galileo is because he was the first to suggest the strange concept that trees don't make noise unless someone is there to hear it.
First off, what is noise; what is sound? Sound is a wave, a vibration of the air. This is usually known as, you guessed it, a sound wave. These waves then vibrate the ear drum, the information is sent to the brain, and the brain interprets the information. This is known as sound.
Galileo said that if there is no one there to interpret these waves, they aren't sound. In other words, when a tree falls it creates a type of wave. Galileo said that eardrums are part of the process of making sound. If ears plus waves equals sound, then waves with no ears are just waves, not sound. So, calling these waves "sound waves" is false.
Now here's my argument. Since waves are needed to make sound, if someone were there when said tree fell, they would hear the thump. Since ears are not needed to make the waves, then the waves are still made. Therefore, there is a possibility of sound being heard. So, in my eyes (or shall is say, ears), that means the falling tree does make what we call sound.
I believe my philosophy to be sensible, if not scientifically correct. I suppose, it really depends on your definition of sound. Is sound what happens when the waves collide with your eardrums, making them vibrate, or is sound the actual waves even before they hit your eardrum? This is an intriguing and puzzling subject, yet it seams so simple. What do you think? What is your definition of sound?
Sources:
Zoom: How Everything Moves: From Atoms and Galaxies to Blizzards and Bees By Bob Berman, Page 223, First Edition Hardcover, Published in 2014 by Little, Brown and Company
By Aurora J. A. Pass
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