How are sperm whales nearly several hundred million times louder than what it takes to rupture your eardrum?

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The volume of a jet engine 25 m away is 150 dB. The volume of a sperm whale click is 236 dB. Since dB is on a logarithmic scale, that would put the click at 400 MILLION times louder. Granted, I don’t know how far away 236 dB is measured at, but surely if 150 dB is enough energy to rupture your eardrums, then wouldn’t 236 dB boil the water around the whale?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

I’m no expert in this subject but as I understand it: soundwaves this loud are more like shockwaves, measuring their amplitude with decibels doesn’t make the most sense but it does convey how powerful they are. Also the super loud clicks are just singular clicks, not continuous sound.