Sunday, August 18, 2013

Krackling of Knuckles

The Problem:


We all, almost on a daily basis, stretch our fingers and create a krackling sound out of the knuckles. We exclaim in hindi, "haddiyan chatak rahi hain". Meaning, "the bones make the sound". But is it really so? Not exactly. It has hardly anything to do with the bones. Read on.

The Answer:

Our bone joints of the body are lubricated using a lubricating liquid which is, of course, naturally existent in our bodies at those joints. So is the case with our finger joints too. These lubricating liquids get filled with nitrogen which seeps into them from our blood capillaries. When we suddenly stretch these joints the pressure inside the liquid falls rapidly thereby converting the dissolved gasses into bubbles which soon after explode creating shockwaves which are heard as krackles. This process is known as Cavitation. 

So next time someone says, "haddi chatkana" or "crackling BONES" you can very well correct him that it is called cavitation. 

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