Why does the voice change when helium is inhaled. Why does helium change the voice? Candidate of Chemical Sciences, scientific columnist for Russian Journal and Science and Life journal

Helium is the second most abundant chemical element in the universe after hydrogen. However, among fans of "joking" this inert gas, of course, holds the palm. And no wonder: one puff of helium - and it's time for you to voice Donald Duck.

Helium belongs to the group of inert gases, which means it has a certain degree of narcotic effect. Did not know? Nothing wrong! According to this indicator, helium is inferior to all other noble gases, so that a person who decides to inhale it will not experience addiction. But it is very possible to amuse the company with the help of this gas.

Everyone is wondering why the voice changes from helium. It's simple: when ingested, the gas acts on the vocal cords, causing them to contract. The result is a thin "mouse" voice. And to be precise, it's all about the nature and properties of the voice.

Helium is by far the world's most "fun" inert gas

The human voice is sound waves created by the vibration of the vocal cords. Helium is denser than the air we normally breathe. The timbre of the voice directly depends on this very density, and the vibration frequency of the ligaments determines the pitch of the sound emitted. Now it’s clear why the voice changes from helium?

A balloon, a voice... what do they have in common?

History has not preserved the name of the first person who inhaled helium and spoke in a funny voice. But his faithful followers do not let the tradition fade away and continue to amuse everyone around. All you need is a balloon, a voice and a little imagination.

A helium balloon will brighten up even the most boring party.

Entertainment is safe enough, if not abused. Helium is an inert gas, odorless and tasteless. Therefore, a person who has inhaled helium can only be recognized by his voice. And that's why helium changes its voice at the moment of "recognition" no one will think - this idea is too hilarious!

Sound is the propagation of waves in an elastic medium (gas, liquid, solid body) and is born from vibrations of something (a ruler clamped in a vice, a loudspeaker membrane, air in a pipe, a string, etc.). The higher the oscillation frequency (the greater the number of oscillations per second), the higher (thinner) the sound. On the contrary, the lower the oscillation frequency, the lower (rougher) the sound. Too high sound (ultrasound, with a frequency above 20 kHz) we do not hear. Too low sound (infrasound, with a frequency below 16 Hz) is also not perceived by the human ear.

If you inhale helium (before that, it is better to take a deep breath), then the ligaments will not be in the usual air environment, but in the helium one. Helium is a very light gas, which under normal conditions has a density 7 times less than that of air. In a less dense medium, bundles (like strings, for example) vibrate at a higher frequency. Imagine that you are clapping your hands in water and in air - just like that, it is easier for the cords to oscillate in helium than in air, which is seven times more dense.

It can be assumed that if you breathe in some gas (harmless, of course), whose density is greater than that of air, then the voice, on the contrary, will become lower.

Such a safe and colorless gas exists and is often used in physics demonstrations. This is sulfur hexafluoride (or sulfur (VI) fluoride, SF 6). Its density under normal conditions is 5 times higher than the density of air. The ligaments in it fluctuate with less frequency and the voice therefore becomes rougher.

Note as additional information that, in addition to high density, sulfur hexafluoride has a high breakdown voltage (89 kV / cm), i.e., it is a very good insulator (this is shown in the video). This property is used in high-voltage electrical engineering, and one of the names of this gas - SF6 - is an abbreviation for "electric gas", which was given in the USSR, where this property was discovered in the 30s.

It is also interesting to know what frequencies the human voice can produce in general. The best voices are trained, choreographed singing voices. The bass has the lowest sounds (80 Hz-350 Hz), the highest sounds have the soprano (up to 1400 Hz). Some singers are able to take the note F of the third octave (aria of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute") - 1396.9 Hz and even the note G of the third octave (aria "Io non chiedo, eterni Dei" for soprano and orchestra, Mozart KV316) - 1568 Hz.

There are also incredible records of hitting the lowest or highest notes. Thus, the lowest note, almost inaudible to the ear, was recorded by Tim Storms from the USA - 8 Hz. Singer Mariah Carey sang a note up to the 4th octave (2093 Hz). In 2014, a national record was set in Ukraine (in Kiev) - singer Svetlana Podyakova took up to 5 octaves! And in 2008, Adam Lopez took a note in C-sharp of the fifth octave, for which there is not even a key on the piano (the rightmost key of the piano is up to the 5th octave) - this is more than 4000 Hz!

And this is without any helium and sulfur hexafluoride!

There is a trick that can be seen many times on YouTube videos. These videos can be found if you search for the words "helium" and "voice". We see that after a person inhales helium gas, his voice changes, becomes ridiculously squeaky. If a person inhales another gas, sulfur hexafluoride, which is heavier than air, his voice takes on bass tones, which is also unusual and therefore funny.

What is the reason for this phenomenon?

But first, let's answer the question, thanks to what we can speak at all. How does a voice come about?

This happens when air passes from the lungs through the trachea into the larynx. In the larynx, approximately in the middle of it, there is a narrowing where the vocal cords are located, which actually generate the sound. The vocal cords are two horizontal folds, between which there is an opening called the glottis. If the vocal cords vibrate as air passes through them from the lungs, sound is produced. The vocal cords can produce a wide variety of movements. They can close, connect, change their length and thickness, thereby producing a variety of sounds.

But the links themselves are very weak. Therefore, the sound produced by them is very quiet. A resonator is needed to amplify this sound. The role of the resonator in the human vocal tract is performed by the pharynx. Throat is voluminous. It opens towards the mouth opening. The shape of the pharynx is wrong, but this shape is so cunningly “calculated” by nature that it amplifies the weak air vibrations that the vocal cords generate and directs them from the mouth towards the listener. The pharynx is located directly next to the bones of the skull. As a result, our voice travels to our ear not so much through the air as through our cranial bone. A strange effect is connected with this: we hear our own voice differently than the people around us hear it.

So, the human vocal tract is very similar to any sound-reproducing apparatus: it has a generator of sound vibrations (vocal cords) and a resonator amplifier (pharynx). The nose and mouth, as well as the tongue, lips and palate in the mouth, are involved in articulation. Thanks to them, a person changes the sounds generated by the vocal cords and amplified by the pharynx, and pronounces words. If we draw an analogy with a radio transmitter, the main signal is modulated by the information signal.

What happens when a person inhales helium gas and starts talking? Due to the fact that helium is lighter than air, the vocal cords in the environment of this gas will fluctuate a little faster. But it is not because of this change that the tone of the voice rises so dramatically.

But for our throat, which, as already mentioned, works as a resonator, a change in the nature of the sound transmission medium is significant. After all, the resonant frequencies of the pharynx depend on its shape and volume. When air is replaced with helium, the speed of sound in the resonator almost triples, from 331 m/s to 965 m/s. But the configuration of the resonator has not changed. Therefore, the resonator will now enter into resonance (and therefore amplify) other, higher frequencies. All sounds coming out of the mouth of a person who "sipped" helium will shift towards higher frequencies. The voice will become more squeaky.

If, instead of light helium, we inhale a gas heavier than air, in which the speed of sound is lower, resonate with the pharynx, which means that sound vibrations with a lower frequency will be amplified. The voice will shift towards low frequencies and become unnaturally rough.

This is how all these miracles are explained.

Who among us has not tried to inhale the contents of helium balloons and then talk in a funny cartoon voice? Many are even sure that they understand why the voice is so...

Who among us has not tried to inhale the contents of helium balloons and then talk in a funny cartoon voice? Many are even sure that they understand why the voice changes so dramatically.

Here are the most common versions:

• Helium is less dense, so it makes the vocal cords vibrate more. Hence the higher squeaky voice.
• Helium is lighter than air and escapes faster. The speed of the movement of sound changes the voice.
• Helium changes the structure of the vocal cords, which entails a change in voice.

If you don't want to sound stupid, don't say that.

What is really going on?

These indicators are related by the formula:

Wave propagation speed = wave frequency * wavelength

It is the frequency of the sound wave that affects the characteristics of the voice, its individuality.

The vocal apparatus includes the oral and nasal cavities, pharynx, larynx, lungs and trachea. The vocal cords are located in the larynx. The vocal cords are folds in the mucous membrane of the larynx. They really fluctuate under the pressure of the air exhaled from the lungs. A sound wave is formed, that is, sound. But! It's not a voice. We don't even hear this sound.

What do we hear? Due to the vibration of the vocal cords, the air in the lungs and larynx also begins to vibrate. There is a resonance. This is a sharp increase in the amplitude of the oscillations of a sound wave. It is the resonance that makes the sound louder. These amplified sound waves we hear and call voice. Resonance occurs in different people at different frequencies with a specific sound wavelength. Usually at four or five frequencies. Therefore, each person has a different voice. This is called the timbre of the voice. It is the timbre of the voice that changes when we inhale helium.

Why does the timbre of the voice change?

So, we inhale helium. What changed? The environment has changed. Helium is indeed less dense than air. The speed of a sound wave increases in a less dense medium, but its length remains the same (after all, the size of the mouth, pharynx, larynx did not change). What indicator is changing? Let's look at the formula. Right! Frequency. Resonance now occurs at higher frequencies of the sound wave. And we hear a different timbre of voice. Squeaky and funny.

Surely you will have fun with your friends more than once, speaking in the voice of a cartoon character. The effect of helium is so amazing that even an adult is hard to resist the temptation to inhale the contents of the balloon. Try to surprise your friends next time with an understanding of the nature of this phenomenon. No one doubts that laughter prolongs life, but only knowledge fills it with meaning.

Helium: changing a person's voice from helium?

Many in childhood did a “trick” with a gel ball, becoming a cartoon character for a while. So why does helium change the voice, and how long can we maintain such an effect?

No one can say the name of the first person who dared to inhale foreign gas and experience changes in vocal cords. However, many follow the path of "pioneers" and at parties show the skill of conversation in a sweet voice. There are a huge number of videos on the Internet that allow you to extend the effect of helium by 10-20 seconds. The average duration of the action of gas with one breath is 30 seconds, which is quite enough for telling a little joke or staging a parody.

Each of us asked ourselves questions about why the voice changes from helium, and on what factors it depends. First, helium belongs to the group of inert gases, whose density is higher than the density of the air that we all breathe. Secondly, when a certain amount of helium is inhaled, an active effect on the vocal cords begins: air masses "compress" them, and as a result, the interlocutor's speech changes to a child's.

So, the human timbre depends on many factors. However, an important role is played by the density of the air that a person inhales. If this indicator of inhaled content is less than a certain mark, then drastic changes may not be seen in speech.

Thus, one can conclude the fact that the voice due to the inhalation of helium is changed solely due to the density of the foreign gas. Using this fact, a person can independently control the time of "mouse" speech.

Why else could the sonorous voice of the interlocutor familiar to everyone change? Similarly, the timbre would change not only under helium, but also under the influence of other air masses, whose density would be higher than the density of air familiar to us. One can imagine how a person could speak on the Sun or on the Moon if he inhaled the local air.

Note: Helium is one of the addictive gases. But in small doses, it does not pose any danger to humans. However, you should not abuse the inhalation of this element, as this can adversely affect your well-being.

Helium is a noble gas that has a number of specific properties. And in particular, it allows you to change the voice of a person, making him squeaky, like cartoon characters. But why is this happening, and what other properties does this gas have? Is it safe to inhale it, and are there any side effects? How studied is this substance, where is it used?

Helium is used in many ways, the easiest way to find it is from balloon sellers who use it extensively. This is a well-studied substance about which quite a lot can be said.

Helium features

Helium is an inert gas and has all the features characteristic of this group. It does not have a typical smell or taste, it is colorless, a helium cloud will not differ in appearance from the surrounding air. The element has a feature that is fixed only in it - at a temperature of -268.9 degrees Celsius, it liquefies, but to achieve its transformation into solid state under normal earth conditions will not succeed. To do this, it is necessary not only to lower the temperature to 1 K, but also to increase the atmospheric pressure to 25 atmospheres. But this has nothing to do with the ability of gas to change a person's voice.

Another feature of this substance will be more interesting within the framework of the question under consideration. Helium is an extremely light gas, only hydrogen is lighter. It is very common in nature, accounting for approximately 23 percent of all substances in known to man Universe. Matter is born in stars during nuclear fusion. This gas is 7 times less dense than the air of the earth's atmosphere, being the second lightest among all existing ones. Only hydrogen is ahead of him.

Interesting fact: it is the low density that makes helium interesting for balloon sellers. By filling balloons with it, people provide them with the opportunity to rush up into the sky. Thanks to gas, it is possible to lift into the sky not only balloons, but also entire airships. Less dense matter tends upward, these are the laws of physics.

How does the gas manage to change the voice?

To understand the issue of voice changes under the influence of helium, it is necessary to take into account the fact of its low density and consider one more nuance - how a person manages to make sounds, speech. Any type of sound, including the human voice, is a vibration. As for human speech, these sounds are produced by the movement of the vocal cords, which are located in the larynx. The timbre of the voice is formed by the frequency of oscillations, the higher this indicator, the higher the voice.

Interesting:

Why does seasickness occur? Reasons how to get rid, photos and videos

In a normal air environment, a person's voice remains familiar, sounds are produced and transmitted in a standard way. But if the indicators of the environment change, then the voice can also change - in a significant or insignificant way. Some people note that voices can sound slightly different even in heavy fog, when the humidity of the environment changes. And this is not a subjective opinion. When an inert gas is inhaled, the vocal cords are compressed, the frequency of their vibrations increases significantly. With an increase in the frequency of vibrations, the voice also changes, it becomes higher, funny.

There is a substance that gives the opposite effect. If sulfur fluoride is inhaled, the voice will sound lowered, the female voice will be perceived as a male bass. It is one of the heavy gases, its density is 5 times higher than that of air.

Is helium safe?

In general terms, inhaling helium can be considered relatively safe fun, if you breathe not only helium, but also ordinary air, and do not indulge in entertainment with special zeal. Indeed, otherwise you can get oxygen starvation. The first signs of this are nausea, dizziness, headache, breathing problems. In addition, you should not do this regularly, because there is a risk of damage to the vocal cords. They must be protected, damage in this area can be irreversible, damaging the voice, or making it impossible to talk. The human voice apparatus is highly sensitive.