Dickensian Name Alert: Krakatoa

I noticed an article recently along the sidebar to some website I was reading. The subheading stated: "The loudest sound ever recorded would probably have killed you."

I don't think "probably" needed to be in that sentence.

Anyway...

The article was an answer to a question asked by a young student: What was the loudest sound ever?

The answer started with something like, Well, we can discuss the loudest sound ever recorded. And oh my...

I ended up following some links and reading a little on my own about the volcanic eruption of the wonderfully-named Krakatoa in 1883.

Krakatoa exists as a volcanic archipelago in between Sumatra and Java, ostensibly a part of Indonesia. But really, nobody owns Krakatoa.

In 1883, an eruption so mighty occurred that it blew two-thirds of the volcanic island to nothingness. Seriously, it literally destroyed the island. Check out this graphic:

Inside the outline near the top, labeled "Anak Krakatau," is the newest volcanic part that has since emerged from the sea. In 1883, only the Rakata existed after the eruption.

And, of course, "eruption" does a disservice to the event, downplaying the cataclysm.

Now to the sound. There happened to be a decibel gauge in Batavia, in a Dutch holding, one hundred miles away. It recorded a decibel reading of 178. The "sound" made from the shock-wave from the eruption was close to the same as standing next to a jet engine.

But one-hundred miles away.

On a British vessel only 40 miles away, the captain wrote of how the blast destroyed more than half his crews' eardrums and that he was sure the apocalypse was on.

People on two separate continents three-thousand miles away craned their necks to the sky, fearing a cannon blast or rifle shot, as the sound reached them.

I read that this event pushes the limit as to what we understand as "sound."

Anyway, the Earth's atmosphere rung like a bell for four days afterward, as sub-audible waves circled the globe a full three and a half times, being recorded seven times (coming from alternating directions) by newly designed sub-audible sensors.

Pushes the limit of our understanding of sound. Ringing the atmosphere like a bell.

Things like this bring back the wide-eyed wonder in me of learning something new and very cool.

Krakatoa in 1883 reduced the global temperature for two years and caused global weatehr patters to go haywire.