Turbulent jet noise is scale-invariant across 256-fold size differences

Evidence

Another experiment involves the fricative consonant f. The loud_f_sound. wav file is a recording of the sound of “f,” played at original speed, then slower by a factor of 8, then 128, then 256. At 128 and 256, the similarity with a distant Apollo rocket launch is remarkable. By the same token, an audio recording of an Apollo liftoff can be made to sound like a bottle rocket by speeding it up sufficiently! Sound generation by chaotic turbulence is very similar no matter on what scale it is produced, provided that time is stretched or compressed appropriately to make the time between major fluctuations similar. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1342

Categorization

• CANDY: A distant Apollo rocket launch sounds just like the letter ‘f’ slowed down 256x — a genuinely fun, shareable fact with no setup needed.
• XREF: Scale invariance of sound generation connects to Fletcher’s work on turbulence and self-similarity across scales.