News Physics

The sound of clapping, explained by physics

Experiments show that a phenomenon called Helmholtz resonance explains the sound

A grayscale images shows two hands clapping together, with a white jet of baby powder streaming upward from a space between the thumbs and forefingers.

Clapping hands spew out a jet of air, visualized here by baby powder. That jet helps explain the sweet sound of applause.

Yicong Fu, Cornell University

By Emily Conover

A round of applause, please: Scientists have finally figured out what’s behind the sound of clapping.

The research pinpoints a mechanism called a Helmholtz resonator — the same acoustic concept that underlies the sound made when you blow across the top of an empty bottle.