Hand clapping is ubiquitous behavior for humans across time and cultures, serving many different purposes: to signify approval with applause, for instance, or to keep time to music. Acousticians often ...

Researchers deserve a round of applause for uncovering the science behind the acoustics produced from hand clapping that had ...

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 ...

In a scene toward the end of the 2006 film, "X-Men: The Last Stand," a character claps and sends a shock wave that knocks out an opposing army. Sunny Jung, professor of biological and environmental ...

Clapping is both a scientific event and a social gesture. A study explores the complex physics behind the sound of clapping. The noise originates from compressed air, not just hand collisions.

It is 40 years since American composer Steve Reich first performed his Clapping Music; his aim to "create a piece of music that needed no instruments beyond the human body", but his fascinating ...