Book 14, Question 61
Why Does a Clap Make a Sharp Crack?
A clap makes a sharp crack because it creates a sudden pulse of air! Your palms squeeze the air between them and push it out in a flash. A sudden, short pulse sounds sharp and crackly.
More fun facts
- A 1987 study in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America called clapping a little studied human activity.
- The scientist analyzed the average clap sounds of 20 people.
- Differences between people's clap sounds were linked to how they held their hands.
- In listening tests, people could judge a clapper's hand position with good accuracy just from the sound.
- The study supports the idea that a sound from a natural source tells listeners about how the thing making it is changing.
Sources: National Institutes of Health
Questions kids ask
Why does a cupped clap sound deeper?
Cupped hands trap a pocket of air, which makes a lower, hollow sounding pop.
Why does clapping sound different outdoors?
Outdoors there are fewer walls to bounce the sound back, so it sounds sharper and shorter.