Clapping is a common action, but the sound it makes comes from a Helmholtz resonator, a device that produces sound by vibrating air within a cavity.
The air trapped between your palms when clapping acts as the cavity, causing sound when you clap.
Researchers used baby powder to visualize airflow and found that the first clap creates the strongest jet of air, which produces the initial sound.
After the first impact, secondary jets of air are produced but make little sound, confirming that the sound comes from the air between the palms, not palm vibrations.
Different palm shapes create different clapping sounds, with changes in shape altering the pitch.
Some claps have two distinct frequency peaks: one from the Helmholtz resonator and another from air vibrating in finger grooves.
The intensity and duration of the clapping sound can be affected by the degree of skin deformation, though it doesn't greatly affect the frequency.
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