How does sound vibrate

The expression of genes encoding transcription factors RIN and HB-1, which control the expression of ethylene-related genes, was also affected in tomato treated with sound stimuli Kim et al. Exposure to 1 kHz sound induces tomato fruit to remain firm for longer Kim et al. Although the optimal sound conditions frequency and decibels must be determined depending on crop species, the use of sound wave treatment would be a convenient way to delay fruit ripening without the use of chemical preservatives or genetic modification.

In addition to delaying fruit ripening, perhaps the quality and yields of post-harvest crops can be improved by sound treatment.

Sound treatments have been broadly applied to alter plant growth. For example, sound-treated tomato showed In contrast, high-frequency, high-decibel sound damages cells Bochu et al. However, treatment with 5 kHz 92 dB sound waves increased tiller growth and dry weight in wheat Weinberger and Measures, Figure 2. The result would be good to speculate not only on direct cellular mechanisms but also on indirect targets such as hormones and photosynthesis signaling while sound transduction pathway remains to be identified.

Additionally, the improvement of plant growth by sound treatment has been studied in many crops such as chrysanthemum, sweet potato, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, cotton, rice, and wheat Hassanien et al. However, the mechanism underlying how plant growth is improved by treatment with sound waves has not been intensively studied. A simple explanation for this effect is that this treatment alters the levels of plant growth regulatory hormones. As mentioned earlier, sound exposure alters endogenous hormone levels in plants.

Increased IAA and decreased ABA levels in response to sound exposure may be the major factors underlying the effect of sound waves on promoting plant growth. Other studies have shown that the levels of soluble proteins and soluble sugars increase in response to sound treatment Yi et al. Soluble sugars can also be a factor in promoting plant growth, as they can serve as an energy source.

In addition, although the proper frequency of sound differs depending on plant species, a number of molecular studies support the notion that sound also induces plant growth promotion and seed germination.

Of the possible mechanisms underlying the plant growth-promoting effects of sound treatment, the enhancement of photosynthesis represents a strong candidate for further characterization Figure 2. Increased photosynthetic ability has been observed in strawberry and rice in response to sound treatment Qi et al. Proteomics analysis showed that photosynthesis-related proteins were highly expressed at 8 h after or Hz sound exposure in Arabidopsis Kwon et al.

Since sound energy induced secondary products can make chemical energy, sound treatment is thought to improve photosynthesis Meng et al. These findings suggest that sound treatment can improve the quality of vegetable and fruit crops. Sound represents a potential new trigger for plant protection Mishra et al.

To date, the use of this new trigger has been introduced and validated in proof-of-concept studies for its potential applications to plant biology. However, there are limitations to this treatment that must be overcome, and unanswered questions remain to be explored. Here, we focused on sound waves as a stress reliever in plants. After summarizing previous findings, there are still some major concerns about the use of sound treatment in plant science.

First, we still do not understand how the plant initially perceives sound, even though there is accumulating information about plant responses to different wavelengths of sound and the responses of different plant species.

Without eardrums, how do plants physically recognize the strength and wavelengths of sound signals and integrate this information in plant cells? This issue is also critical from a practical viewpoint.

The discovery of an organ or a specific protein in plants that recognizes sound waves would help us maximize the effectiveness of the use of sound treatment in field trials. Second, technology used to engineer sound quality, such as the fine turning, modification, and mixing of sounds, must also be improved to facilitate its use for sound-mediated stress relief and increased plant growth. Third, the analysis of plant biomarkers such as Pathogenesis-Related 1 protein PR1 for systemic acquired resistance will help scientists optimize sounds to maximize sound-specific plant stress relief van Loon, Fourth, we must be concerned about the side effects of sound waves as well.

Humans can differentiate and recognize sounds ranging from 20 to 20, Hz. If the sound vibration used to treat plants causes damage to animals, humans, or microbes after long-term exposure, a detailed examination and evaluation of the effects of various exposure times and high-frequency e. To minimize side effects from this treatment, different aspects of the responses of animals to the selected wavelength need to be assessed.

In conclusion, the use of sound as a new plant trigger is in its infancy, but it has already shown great potential Chowdhury et al. If the proper electric power supply, speakers, and associated sound-generating equipment are utilized, sound treatment can constitutively be applied for long periods of time without additional input. This unique setup, which has not been tested before, awaits your next experiment.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Aggio, R. Sonic vibration affects the metabolism of yeast cells growing in liquid culture: a metabolomic study.

Metabolomics 8, — Appel, H. Plants respond to leaf vibrations caused by insect herbivore chewing. Oecologia , — Bochu, W. Soundwave stimulation triggers the content change of the endogenous hormone of the Chrysanthemum mature callus.

Colloids Surf. B Biointerfaces 37, — Carrot cell growth response in a stimulated ultrasonic environment. B Biointerfaces 12, 89— Borghetti, M. Ultrasound emission after cycles of water stress in Picea abies. Tree Physiol. Choi, B. Positive regulatory role of sound vibration treatment in Arabidopsis thaliana against Botrytis cinerea infection. Chowdhury, M. Update on the effects of sound wave on plants. Start with the lowest frequency tone available.

Set your volume to the lowest possible setting and hit Play. While the tone plays, observe the sugar or salt granules on the paper. What do you notice about the granules? Are there any changes? If so, what are they?

Each time you increase it pause to observe the sugar or salt. What do you notice? Have the granules changed? In what way? Continue to increase the volume, observing any changes to the sugar on the paper. Important: Keep your speaker volume within a comfortable range.

If the volume starts becoming uncomfortably loud and you still do not see any changes, see the first "Extra" step below for tips. What effect does increasing the volume have on the sugar or salt? What do you think is causing this change? When you see an effect on the sugar or salt, try pausing the tone and then restarting it. When the tone stops, what happens to the granules?

What about when you restart the tone? Why do you think the tone has this effect on the granules? Do you notice any patterns in how the granules behave when the tone is playing?

Pause the tone and reset the sugar or salt so that it is evenly spread across the paper again. Set your phone back to the lowest volume and change the frequency of the tone that you are playing to a higher frequency.

Repeat the activity, slowly increasing the volume for this new tone. How is the new tone different? There is a progression of collisions that pass through the air as a sound wave. Air itself does not travel with the wave there is no gush or puff of air that accompanies each sound ; each air molecule moves away from a rest point and then, eventually, returns to it. When we hear something, we are sensing the vibrations in the air.

These vibrations enter the outer ear and cause the eardrum to vibrate too. We cannot hear the vibrations that are made by waving our hands in the air because they are too slow. The slowest vibration our human ears can hear is 20 times a second. That would be a very low sound.

The fastest vibration we can hear is 20, times per second, which would be a very high sound. Animals can hear different frequencies from humans. Cats can hear even higher frequencies than dogs, and porpoises can hear the fastest vibrations of all up to , times per second. It takes 3 different vibrations to hear a sound, since sound is made when things vibrate or wiggle :.

When sound waves move through the air, each air molecule vibrates back and forth, hitting the air molecule next to it, which then also vibrates back and forth. It will make this same sound every time. This sound can be changed, however, by altering the vibrating mass of the glass. For example, adding water causes the glass to get heavier increase in mass and thus harder to move, so it tends to vibrate more slowly and at a lower pitch.

What is Sound? When we hear something, we are sensing the vibrations in the air. These vibrations enter the outer ear and cause our eardrums to vibrate or oscillate. Attached to the eardrum are three tiny bones that also vibrate: the hammer , the anvil , and the stirrup. These bones make larger vibrations within the inner ear, essentially amplifying the incoming vibrations before they are picked up by the auditory nerve.

The properties of a sound wave change when it travels through different media: gas e. When a wave passes through a denser medium, it goes faster than it does through a less-dense medium.

This means that sound travels faster through water than through air, and faster through bone than through water. When molecules in a medium vibrate, they can move back and forth or up and down. Sound energy causes the molecules to move back and forth in the same direction that the sound is travelling. This is known as a longitudinal wave. Transverse waves occur when the molecules vibrate up and down, perpendicular to the direction that the wave travels.

Speaking as well as hearing involves vibrations. To speak, we move air past our vocal cords, which makes them vibrate. We change the sounds we make by stretching those vocal cords.