May Monster Madness: Monster Voices with Sulfur Hexafluoride

Image Source: Arthur's Monster Clipart

Have you ever wanted to have a mega-deep, booming monster voice to scare your friends with but been disappointed when you found only helium, which makes it super-squeaky instead? Well, stop being disappointed and get yourself some of the chemical compound sulfur hexafluoride instead! 

Helium is much less dense than air and so allows the vocal chords to vibrate at a higher rate, making your voice sound much higher. Sulfur hexafluoride, however, is approximately 5 - 6 times denser than air at room temperature, which forces vocal chords to vibrate more slowly and in turn makes your voice sound much lower. The effects don't last long, unfortunately, but you can sound like an evil monster overlord for a minute or two at least!

Check out the videos below to see the gas in action:

This post is part of the May Monster Madness blog hop & Science Sunday!