The sound of death

[Guest curioustina]

I saw a really stange exhibition in Belgium and am writing a play about it. But I need some help with the science.

 

This exhibition was all about 'life from death', and had dead animals linked up to volt meters to read their voltage as they decomposed in order to prove that electricity was still generated even in the death of the body. Another part of the exhibition was this... A severred human finger linked to some kind of machine that was measuring the frequency it was producing as it decayed and this was being amplified and played in the chapel - which create a really weird whirring and humming whistley sound. If anyone can explain two things:

 

1) Could dead animals be used to create energy in the same way a battery can (eg a lemon science fair style battery), to any purpose

 

2). Can anyone describe the technicality of the singing finger, and describe the equipment involved and explain how it was possible to amplify the frequency so that it was perceived as sound?

 

Anyone who helps will recieve a credit in the acknowledgement page of my play when it is published.

 

Thanks,

Tina

[5614]

1) Could dead animals be used to create energy in the same way a battery can (eg a lemon science fair style battery), to any purpose

 

Well to look at that you need to look at what energy a dead animal has, and the answer is not much really.

 

Theoretically you use it's body heat until that is used up...

 

You could throw it and use that kinetic energy (movement energy) but that's a bit pointless because you have to throw it!

 

I suppose you could cut it apart and use the glucose or glycogen or whatever form the animal's energy was stored in before it died.

 

Basically you could get little useless bits here and there but nothing worthwile.

 

2). Can anyone describe the technicality of the singing finger, and describe the equipment involved and explain how it was possible to amplify the frequency so that it was perceived as sound?

 

Sound is a longitudinal wave, it's a vibration (or oscillation). If you can move your finger back and forward you are creating sound... it might be too quiet and at too low a pitch to hear, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

 

If you can vibrate your finger quickly enough you'd make sound you can hear.

 

As for amplification, put a microphone by it and turn up the speakers!

[Mokele]

Ever have a compost heap? If you haven't, you actually have to be careful when turning them over (for aeration, which helps decomposition), because the heat can burn you.

 

The thing is, a dead organism still has lots of sugars, protiens, etc in it. Hell, we eat dead organisms all the time, and harness their energy to power our lives, by digesting them. In a compost heap, the heat is generated by the metabolic action of the bacteria in it.

 

So yes, we can generate energy from decay. All we have to do is harness the heat of compost.

 

Mokele

[RedAlert]

Like Garbage powered cars, or gobar gas (methane gas extracted from feces which is used to heat homes etc.). All forms of "biological" energy.