I proclaimed a break from art. But now I’m thinking about sonic weapons and police militarization against protestors and sonic sound in the seas harming sea life and contemplating how to tie these things together without really comparing them but alluding to the similarities of abuse of authority over the powerless.

In new research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they discovered that the sound emitted by sonar is so intense that marine mammals will swim hundreds of miles, dive deep into the abyss or even beach themselves to flee from the sounds that are literally unbearable to them.

While little is known about any direct physiological effects of sonar waves on marine species, evidence shows that whales will swim hundreds of miles, rapidly change their depth (sometime leading to bleeding from the eyes and ears), and even beach themselves to get away from the sounds of sonar.

LRADs can take on many looks, but generally resemble a box amplifier or loudspeaker. Although LRADs can be used to project human voices or recordings across long distances, they are also used to emit a so-called "deterrent tone" that is capable of resulting in permanent hearing loss or hearing damage. Such hearing damage occurs whenever human ears are exposed to any sound above 85 decibels (db), though it also depends on length of exposure. Certain LRADs are capable of creating sounds nearly twice as loud, up to 160 dB, which is louder than a jet taking off (that is between 120 and 140 db). The harm is exacerbated by the fact that, unlike whistles and other sound projection devices that send their waves in all directions, LRADs focus their sound into a cone that extends about 15 degrees in every direction from its axis.

Side effects including tinnitus, migraines, vertigo, and even nerve damage have been reported by people targeted with the sonic weapon, according to Fast Company.