5 February 2022 | New Scientist | 55Answers
Quick quiz #137
Answers1 Three: the common wombat
(Vombatus ursinus), northern
hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus
krefftii) and southern hairy-nosed
wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons)
2 Angel Falls in Venezuela
3 Uracil
4 A syzygy
5 Delta waves, frequency 1-3 HertzQuick Crossword
#100 AnswersACROSS 1 Cramp, 4 Silica gel,
9 Dioxide, 10 Walkman,
11 Imago, 13 Lilac, 15 Lux,
16 Fly, 17 Brass, 19 Brain,
21 Yeast, 23 Loris, 24 Dow,
25 WMD, 26 Boyle, 28 Cilia,
29 Rhodium, 31 Taproot,
33 Dodgem car, 34 SedgeDOWN 1 Caddis fly, 2 Apogamy,
3 Phi, 4 Steel, 5 Low, 6 Colic,
7 Gemella, 8 Linux, 12 Orbit,
14 Laser, 18 Alloy, 19 Basic,
20 Newcastle, 22 Android,
24 Deltoid, 25 Wired, 26 Brine,
27 Ester, 30 Mac, 32 Pus#152 Lightning strike
SolutionCall the time of the first strike T1.
After that, the clock reverses, and
30 minutes later the clock is
1 hour behind real time. Another
lightning strike now makes the
clock reverse again, going
forwards but 1 hour behind.
Thirty minutes later (at T2), the
third strike reverses the clock
again. The times on the bedside
clock and my watch coincide at
7 o’clock, so T2 must be 1.30am
(when the bedside clock was an
hour behind). T2 was two strikes
(1 hour) after T1, so the first
strike was at 12.30am.Tom Gauld
for New Scientist
In the late 1970s, Hans Cousto,
a Swiss mathematician and
musicologist, described the
natural law of the cosmic octave
as the link between different kinds
of periodically occurring natural
phenomena, such as the orbit
of the planets, the weather,
colours, rhythms and tones.
Using a formula he devised,
Cousto transposed astronomical
periods into audible frequencies.
As a result of a collaboration
between Cousto, musician Jens
Zygar and the gong manufacturer
Paiste, a series of Planet Gongs
were made in the 1980s based
on Cousto’s theory of the cosmic
octave. The tuning relates to the
fundamental note (the lowest and
loudest-frequency note we hear)
created by striking a particular
gong. For example, the Paiste
Venus Gong has a fundamental
of A2 (i.e. pitch A in the second
octave), while the Paiste Mars
Gong has a fundamental of D2.
However, Planet Gongs are so
rich in tones and overtones that
when they are struck, they create
such a continuum of sound that
choosing a particular gong because
of its fundamental may not be the
best way for the listener to benefit
from the wealth of vibrations being
produced and picked up by the
body physically as well as audibly.When to panic
We are often told that “now is not
the time to panic” when a crisis is
looming or happening. When is the
right time to panic? (continued)James Fradgley
Wimborne, Dorset, UK
I have noticed that different
people have different panic
reflexes. Some freeze, some run,
etc. Mine is to carry on doing what
I am doing. There does seem to be
consistency of panic response in
an individual. My conclusion isthat these varied responses
might enable some to survive.Bob Denmark
Garstang, Lancashire, UK
If you panic and run away from
a tiger (as previously discussed
in your 4 December issue) with
or without a broken leg, it will
almost certainly chase you, catch
you and, if it is hungry, eat you.
Keeping still and maintaining
eye contact is recommended by
those who work with tigers in the
wild. Thinking is usually better
than panicking.Steve Hyams
Prestwich, Greater Manchester, UK
Surely when the shit has hit the
fan, it is already too late to panic,
but before the shit has been
despatched, it is too early. So
somewhere between the two,
depending on distance from
source to fan and speed of travel,
is about the right time to panic
if you are quick. I seem to recall
an equation for this and it is
possibly the only use I have
ever found for school algebra. ❚“ The concept of the sun,
moon or a planet being
associated with sound
has roots in the musica
universalis (‘music of
the spheres’)”