Hundreds of holidaymakers, leaving the sea coast, take away with them the gifts of the sea - the outlandish shells of molluscs. It is believed that if you put the shell to your ear, you can hear the sound of waves, which will remind you of happy days of relaxation.
Scientists decided to upset romantics by debunking the myth of the sea splashing inside the shell. In their opinion, the rumble of waves is nothing more than altered sounds of the environment. Shells of different sizes and shapes pick up different sounds, so the sound of the sea is always different. The ambient noise resonates in the shell, changes, "wandering" through the curls, and the person begins to think that he hears the sounds of the surf. Moreover, the more bizarre the shape of the shell is, the richer is the sound of the sea. Any closed cavity in which there is air resembles a resonator chamber in its action and concentrates acoustic waves. Similarly, “sea” can be heard by holding an empty glass to your ear.
There are two more hypotheses, previously developed by scientists, which were designed to explain the incomprehensible noise in the shell. The first says that a person hears the sounds with which the blood circulates through his vessels. However, this hypothesis can be easily refuted. It is known that after intense physical exertion, blood begins to circulate faster. However, if you compare the sound in the shell before and after exercise, you will not find a difference.
According to another theory that scientists have developed, the sound of the sea is the movement of air currents along the curls of a shell. This hypothesis has also been successfully refuted. The experiment was carried out in a room with excellent sound insulation - there was no sound of waves in the shell.
In order to hear the sound of the waves, it is not necessary to go to the sea and bring beautiful shells from there. The desired sound will be perfectly heard in the most trivial things - an empty glass put to your ear, an ashtray, a sugar bowl lid, and even your palms folded in a boat. However, do not give up romance, because only the shell will stir up your memories of the sea.
