Now, I’m not sure if I buy into this article yet, but it sounds entertaining.
“The common view that nerves transmit impulses through electricity is wrong and they really transmit sound, according to a team of Danish scientists.”
The conventional wisdom is that nerves are not “conducting electricity” per se, rather that there is a pulse of opening and closing of ion channels – sodium and potassium – that creates an exchange between the inner and outer portions of the neuron. The exchange of ions creates a change in the potential of the nerve membrane which is then propagated from one end of the cell to the other.
Bleh. Ok. What I’m saying is that there is a wave of channel openings. Go to these pages for further details.
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Now, when looking up the definition of sound, there are many provided – in fact dozens. The ones that are seemingly closest to the issue at hand though are:
“Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing.”
– American Heritage Dictionary
“Mechanical vibrations transmitted through an elastic medium, traveling in air at a speed of approximately 1087 ft. (331 m) per second at sea level.”
– Dictionary.com
So, the conclusions seem to be that either there are ions exchanging or there is some jiggling going on. (hmm …)
Regardless, what are we aiming for? Personally, I wonder if the idea that we are looking for the power of mind, the power of sound, or both. Maybe that’s just me. Somewhere hidden in the context of sound vs electricity in the neuron could really be another version of the age-old question of where is the mind?
Heck, I’m just going to read Mickey Hart’s Spirit into Sound.
Edit: Additional Article via LiveScience.com
