The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3
<jats:p> This paper discusses heightened interest in the potential audibility of the aurora borealis during the First and Second International Polar Years (IPYs) of 1882–3 and 1932–3. Galvanized by a growing volume of local accounts expressing belief in the elusive noises, written by the inhab...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/327238 2023-10-29T02:37:28+01:00 The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 Amery, Fiona 2021-08-26T18:36:02Z application/pdf text/xml https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/327238 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.74687 en eng The Royal Society Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/327238 doi:10.17863/CAM.74687 Research articles aurora borealis sound International Polar Year polar science senses Article 2021 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.74687 2023-10-05T22:19:36Z <jats:p> This paper discusses heightened interest in the potential audibility of the aurora borealis during the First and Second International Polar Years (IPYs) of 1882–3 and 1932–3. Galvanized by a growing volume of local accounts expressing belief in the elusive noises, written by the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands, northern Canada, and Norway, auroral researchers of each era were determined to establish the objectivity of auroral sound. There was considerable speculation within the auroral research community as to whether the apparent noises were imagined or illusory, connected to discussions about the possibility of low-altitude aurorae. The anglophone auroral sound debate primarily played out within the official reports of IPY expeditions, the journal <jats:italic>Nature</jats:italic> , and a Shetland Island newspaper. I argue that the embodied senses were used exclusively to register the liminal sounds of the aurora across the two periods, despite developments in sound recording technologies, the primacy of mechanical objectivity, and instruments transported to the polar regions for the investigation of visual features of the phenomenon. This overlooked episode complicates narratives of polar science in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by revealing a faith in the corporeal senses and the significant role of amateur observers. </jats:p> Article in Journal/Newspaper International Polar Year IPY Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
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Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
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English |
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Research articles aurora borealis sound International Polar Year polar science senses |
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Research articles aurora borealis sound International Polar Year polar science senses Amery, Fiona The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
topic_facet |
Research articles aurora borealis sound International Polar Year polar science senses |
description |
<jats:p> This paper discusses heightened interest in the potential audibility of the aurora borealis during the First and Second International Polar Years (IPYs) of 1882–3 and 1932–3. Galvanized by a growing volume of local accounts expressing belief in the elusive noises, written by the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands, northern Canada, and Norway, auroral researchers of each era were determined to establish the objectivity of auroral sound. There was considerable speculation within the auroral research community as to whether the apparent noises were imagined or illusory, connected to discussions about the possibility of low-altitude aurorae. The anglophone auroral sound debate primarily played out within the official reports of IPY expeditions, the journal <jats:italic>Nature</jats:italic> , and a Shetland Island newspaper. I argue that the embodied senses were used exclusively to register the liminal sounds of the aurora across the two periods, despite developments in sound recording technologies, the primacy of mechanical objectivity, and instruments transported to the polar regions for the investigation of visual features of the phenomenon. This overlooked episode complicates narratives of polar science in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by revealing a faith in the corporeal senses and the significant role of amateur observers. </jats:p> |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amery, Fiona |
author_facet |
Amery, Fiona |
author_sort |
Amery, Fiona |
title |
The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
title_short |
The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
title_full |
The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
title_fullStr |
The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
title_full_unstemmed |
The disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the First and Second International Polar Years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
title_sort |
disputed sound of the aurora borealis: sensing liminal noise during the first and second international polar years, 1882–3 and 1932–3 |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/327238 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.74687 |
genre |
International Polar Year IPY |
genre_facet |
International Polar Year IPY |
op_relation |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/327238 doi:10.17863/CAM.74687 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.74687 |
_version_ |
1781062257536401408 |