Although often associated with applause, hand clapping is more universal than that. The distinctive sound can mark rhythms, draw attention, and even test the surrounding acoustics. But how exactly does Keep reading
Tag: Helmholtz resonance
“Architecture in Music”
Inside musical instruments gapes an emptiness that, to the eye of photographer Charles Brooks, resembles the vast architecture of music halls and cathedrals. In his series “Architecture in Music,” Brooks Keep reading
Sounds of Champagne
Lean in to a glass of champagne and you’ll hear a soft chorus of sound as the bubbles pop. Recently, researchers determined the specific mechanism in the process that’s responsible Keep reading
Why Watering Globes Are Hard to Fill
If you’re leaving home for a few days and want to keep your houseplants happy, you may have tried using a watering globe – those glass bulbs with long stems Keep reading
Fighting Resonance
Resonance is a funny creature, as Dianna discovered when she tried to sing a rising scale through a tube. At certain notes, everyone who attempted to do it had their Keep reading
Reader Question: Resonating Bottles
Reader shoebill-san asks: why does it make that weird sound when i blow over a bottle? i did a science experiment in college where we looked at the resonance in Keep reading
Resonating with the Windows Down
Ever roll down your window a bit while driving and immediately hear a terrible, rhythmic noise? That awful whum-whum-whum is–oddly enough–an example of the same physics that allows you to Keep reading
Making a Bottle Resonate
If you’ve ever blown across the top of a bottle to make it play a note, then you’ve created a Helmholtz resonator. Air flow across the top of the bottle Keep reading