Mad Monk’s sound advice
QUESTION
Rasputin became trusted by the Romanovs after he claimed he could treat Prince Alexei’s haemophilia. Do we know how he intended to do this? THE son of a Siberian peasant, the ambitious and charismatic Gregori Efimovich (1871-1916) was a self-styled Russian holy man or starets who claimed to have healing powers.
His wild behaviour, heavy drinking and a voracious sexual appetite, earned him the nickname ‘Rasputin’, meaning ‘immoral’ or ‘disreputable one’.
From 1906 onwards he gained influence in the Tsar’s court owing to his supposed ability to control haemophilia, a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body’s ability to make blood cl ots, a process needed to stop bleeding, which afflicted the Tsarevich Alexei (1904-18).
There has been no serious study as to how he treated the Tsarevi ch; most authors point to his ability to put the boy in a hypnotic trance. It was reported that on one occasion Rasputin magically healed the Tsarevich by telegram, by sending the royal family a message telling the palace doctors to let the boy rest.
Other times he used the telephone to impart similar advice. By telling the boy to rest – or alleviating his panic through hypnosis – following minor injury, this may have been sound medical advice.
The initial first-aid response to a haemophiliac comes under the abbreviation RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).
Likewise, calm or rest might have been beneficial in treating other side-effects of haemophilia, such as tightness in the joints and irritability.
As Russian defeats mounted, Rasputin and the German-born Tsarina Alexandra became increasingly unpopular. In December 1916 a group of nobles killed him. The Russian royal family were themselves murdered two years later. Henry Abrahams, London E13.
QUESTION
Does a snowflake make a sound when it lands? If so, why can’t we hear them in a heavy snowfall? TO answer this, it is necessary first to understand exactly what sound is.
What we call ‘ sound’ does not exist outside of ourselves; it is simply the way the brain processes and experiences shock waves, which spread from their source in exactly the same way ripples spread from a pebble thrown into a pond.
These shock waves produce localised changes in air pressure, which are picked up by our ears and fed to the brain, where they are translated into what we experience as sound. Just like the ripples, the pressure waves also decrease in strength the further away they spread, which is why the sounds we experience decrease in volume the further away we are from the shock waves’ point of origin.
This also gives us the answer to the well-known conundrum ‘does a tree falling in a forest make any sound when there is no-one there to hear it?’ (no).
So the stronger the shock wave, the louder the sound will seem to our brains.
So our snowflake will undoubtedly cause a minuscule shock wave when i t alights on the ground, but it will be far too weak for human ears to pick up.
In fact such tiny shock waves will probably dissipate within a matter of millimetres, so would not even reach our ears in the first place. A nearby bat might just be able to pick something up, but not us. Alan Linfield, Tring, Hertfordshire.
QUESTION
Which bacteria are the key offenders in causing smelly feet? THE Dutch have a word for foot odour, tenenkaas, which means ‘toe cheese’. It is accurate because one of the main offenders is the bacterium Brevibacterium epidermis, which is similar to one used in cheese-making.
Bacteria thrive in the moist crevices of the feet, where they feed on proteins in dead skin; a major byproduct is a cheesy smelling gas called methanethiol.
A close relative of this bacteria, B lineus, makes methanethiol from the proteins in milk. This is exploited by the manufacturers of Brie and Camembert, who add this bacteria during cheese making.
Propionibacteria i s another smelly feet offender. These popul ate sebaceous glands, which excrete the oils that keep your skin moist. They can get infected, causing acne.
Thi s bacterium secretes propionic acid, which is similar to acetic acid (vinegar) and may account for foot odours identified as being vinegar-like.
Isovaleric acid (3-methyl butanoic acid) is another source of foot odour and is a result of a bacteria that is also present in several strong cheeses. Dr Ian Smith, Cambridge.
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