The common activity of placing a seashell against one's ear and claiming to hear the ocean is a blend of myth and interesting physics. Contrary to a poetic belief, one does not hear distant waves but in fact the ambient noise around us, captured and amplified by the geometry of the seashell.
This process involves a simple yet marvelous phenomenon known as resonance. Sound waves are reflections inside the curved structure. The shell acts much like an echo chamber, and each shell's shape influences the specific sound one hears. This can include the gentle rush reminiscent of ocean tides. Throughout history, literature has romanticized this acoustic illusion, persistently linking it to the enigmatic allure of the sea.
Tidal Whisper