this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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Oh, this is easy. Neil, the thumping isn't for the sand its for the spice in the sand which is a near-magical substance that is tied biologically to the sandworms and when consumed by humans in large quantities lets you see into the future. Are you going to try and tell me a substance which clearly grants its user the ability to see through space-time can't be excited mechanically with thumping it on the ground?
Actually it does work with regular sand dunes. The sequential baked layers creates a reasoning champer that amplifies sound at certain frequencies.
https://youtu.be/v29ou094luc
Which means Neil is actually upset with how much scientific world building Frank Herbert did, since it confuses people like him who haven't studied sand dunes for decades.
This doesn't mention anything about it working with any kind of large impact, though. It's all about higher frequency vibrations from layers of sand moving around. It's an interesting phenomenon, but jot what is being talked about.
The resonance depends on the size of the cavity. It's conceivable that with different sand structure you could get different size resonating chambers. Plus even though a piano is tuned for higher frequency vibrations, it'll still ring when you thump on it. I'd imagine that'd be the same with these chambers.
I'm just here to appreciate that you're explaining this to a user named 'Cave'.
What's the opposite of nominative determinism?
Besides the sand worms can pick up on the vibrations. It doesn’t need to be loud. Just be a consistent pattern.
So having the thump sound is there for artistic purposes. For the art. In a medium used for art.
Well, it's more than that. I think this is even mentioned in the new movies, but there's a phenomenon in Dune called "drum sand" that is a section of sand that somehow amplifies vibrations. Obviously it doesn't matter how any of this works. It's a story where, if you get high enough, you can predict possible futures. No shit it isn't realistic. No one cares.
Yup. I think that’s why it’s called Science Fiction not Science Nonfiction.
Neil failed to remember that they are on Arrakis, not in the Mojave desert.
patrolling arrakis almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter
Someone didn't read the book far enough to get to the part about Drum sand
Spice might be like mycelium on Arrakis.
With what Spice does to people, and the general weirdness of the spice/worm/maker life cycle, suggesting that the worms are partially fungal in nature actually makes a lot of sense!