August 27, 1883: the earth makes the loudest noise, louder than any it has made since. A volcano on Krakatoa was erupting and it did so with a bang. Literally – the sound was so loud, it was heard across a thirteenth of the globe. If you were in Washington, DC and heard a noise coming from Philadelphia, that would be incredible. But those cities are just 140 miles apart. Krakatoa was heard 3,000 miles away. It would be like if you were in Washington, DC and heard a noise coming from Dublin!
A barometer at the Batavia gasworks (100 miles away from Krakatoa) registered the ensuing spike in pressure at over 2.5 inches of mercury. That converts to over 172 decibels of sound pressure. A jackhammer is about 100 decibels, and a jet engine is about 150 decibels. To register as 172 decibels, 100 miles away? People’s eardrums must have been shattering.
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