Hearing Magnets

[iNow]

Can one hear a magnet?

And does the shape of the sound change when there are two magnets proximal enough to noticeably interact?

[Sensei]

An audio speaker is a mixture of a magnet and an electromagnet attached to a diaphragm (or reverse). When current flows through the electromagnet, it begins to tremble and causes air molecules to move..

Edited October 22, 2022 by Sensei

[swansont]

If you have a time-varying magnetic field, you can be realigning domains of a ferromagnetic material. The domains take up a different amount of space depending on their alignment. It’s called magnetostriction, and it’s responsible for the humming you can hear in transformers 

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Solids/magstrict.html

[iNow]

A transcranial magnetic field can also result in a sensation of sounds when applied to the skull. It’s a technique similar to electroconvulsive therapy, but more precise and refined. 

[Externet]

A magnet moving, spinning of vibrating can produce a sound from its field inducing action on a nearby ferromagnetic item or other magnet but the sound is produced by variation of its force field acting upon something else or itself.  It is not the magnetic field emitting the sound.

The faintest sound I heard is a reed switch when a magnet got nearby.

[iNow]

Another take on this question involves what it means to hear. We have instruments to detect sounds below the threshold of our ears. 

[Eise]

I once saw a fireball (big meteor), and I was sure I could hear it at the same time. A friend of mine noticed that this would be impossible: fireballs are still somewhere 50-100 km high in the atmosphere, so the sound would take much longer to reach my ears. Many years later, I read about a possible explanation: it seems that microwaves are capable to move dry hair slightly, and it is the 'fizzling' of the hair you can hear. As I had quite long hair in those days, this might be an explanation. But to be honest, I also am open to the suggestion that it was just an illusion.

[Moontanman]

5 hours ago, Eise said:

I once saw a fireball (big meteor), and I was sure I could hear it at the same time. A friend of mine noticed that this would be impossible: fireballs are still somewhere 50-100 km high in the atmosphere, so the sound would take much longer to reach my ears. Many years later, I read about a possible explanation: it seems that microwaves are capable to move dry hair slightly, and it is the 'fizzling' of the hair you can hear. As I had quite long hair in those days, this might be an explanation. But to be honest, I also am open to the suggestion that it was just an illusion.

I can hear them as well... or at least i have, it's been quite a few years since i saw a bolidide but you never know. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Moontanman