🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <862@m3.mfci.UUCP> colwell@mfci.UUCP (Robert Colwell) writes:
>...
>Solving that for N in seconds, I get 0.27 seconds.  My impression was that
>the booms were obviously separated in time.  I'd expect that people might
>have a hard time distinguishing booms that were only 0.27 seconds apart.

I'd expect that you're wrong.  That's a quarter of a second, which is most
certainly distinguishable (or for you computer types:  250 milliseconds).
Being a former percussionist (you know, one of those guys that plays
drums), I remember routinely playing notes on a snare drum that are a
quarter of a second apart (four notes per second).  Believe me, the notes
were quite distinguishable.  Or don't believe me.  But if you don't
believe me, do the following experiment:  tap the countertop once a second
(use your watch to time them).  Double the rate, then double it again.
Quite distinguishable.  And in fact, about the same rate that the
shuttle's booms are heard at.

			William LeFebvre
			Department of Computer Science
			Rice University
			<phil@Rice.edu>