Posted on 04/10/2009 1:17:56 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Dolphins' secret underwater language has intrigued generations of scientists, but no one has come close to cracking the code to understanding their mysterious sounds - until now.
A British acoustics engineer claims he may be close to deciphering the clicks and whistles that make up "dolphin speak".
In a lab in his Cumbrian cottage, John Stuart Reid showed me his Cymascope, a new invention which transforms sounds into pictures.
He explained the principle behind it using sand, a brass plate and a violin bow.
"You see what happens when we bring the bow down the side of the plate," he said.
"It's almost like magic because we can see now the imprint the sound has made on the surface of the plate, through the sand.
"It's literally the pattern of sound. That's the shape the sound would be if we could see it.
"That's exactly the principle of the Cymascope. Instead of using a brass plate, we're using the surface of water."
John Stewart Reid and wife Annaliese John has been working with Florida-based cetacean researcher Jack Kassewitz, who collects the dolphin and whale sounds in the field and sends them back to the UK. He then showed me the Cymascope in action, using a pre-recorded whale sound, and explained how the process works.
"Inside the business end of the Cymascope there is a very small area of water. A light ring illuminates the water and then a video camera points down onto the water's surface," he said.
"So what we're going to do is excite the water by introducing the whale song, then look what happens on the TV monitor when we play that lovely song. What you see is the image of the sound.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
Jimmah better not get anywhere near the thing, unless he wants to be impaled.
The first thing that they will say is that Obama is an America hating Commie.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
or ‘we’re smarter than you because you voted Obama’
now thats important
One of the funniest Far Side had the scientists with a chalkboard next to a dolphin tank saying “they keep making those funny sounds” with a list on the board:
Bwenos Dee-as
Kommo Ess-tas
Kwal Es Nu Nom-bray
Hilarious!
I’ve tried sign language with the dolphins but their flippers just can’t handle it.
So long and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this
We tried to warn you all but oh dear
You may not share our intellect
Which might explain your disrespect
For all the natural wonders that grow (around you)
So long so long and thanks for all the fish
The world’s about to be destroyed
There’s no point getting all annoyed
Lie back and let the planet dissolve (around you)
Despite those nets of tuna fleets
We thought that most of you were sweet
Especially tiny tots and your pregnant women
So long so long, so long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long and thanks for all the fish
If I had just one last wish
I would like a tasty fish
If we could just change one thing
We would all have learned to sing
Come one and all
Man and mammal
Side by side in life’s great gene pool
So long so long, so long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long, so long so long, so long so long
So long so long and thanks for all the fish
Actually, I think the dolphins will ask us to whack a few Orcas and sharks for them.
OK, can we send in Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid as advance scouts?
I’m reminded of the “Far Side” cartoon where the scientists succeeds in building a machine to translate a dog’s barks...
Ooohhh! You’re good! I was just posting my recollection of that cartoon!
Great! Now we will have dolphins telling us that, “Timmy’s in the well!”
Huh! I had no idea there was a musical version!
Good luck with that.
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