My wife is currently doing some wrapping/packaging and I was just thinking about how insanely loud the tape is. It got me thinking that some things (although really small, like tape) can make obnoxiously loud noises. What is it that does this?
I was thinking that it might be the speed at which something happens (like if you were to slowly/lightly tap on a desk Vs smacking it,) but then what about something like opening a bag of chips? You could open that as slowly and cautiously as humanly possible but it could still be really loud.
In: 0
Sounds are vibrations in air. Creating sounds requires pushing against air, and large membranes are relatively good at this because they have a large surface to contact the air coupled with relatively small mass themselves which enables them to accelerate quickly.
Things like tape, paper, and foils may also be noisy because they way they are manipulated introduces stresses that release by rapidly shifting their position. Relatively little stress can move tape more than a larger, heavier object.
Large surfaces act like speaker cones, efficiently transferring even small vibrations to the air. Very sharp vibrations, like the jerky motion of tape glue letting go, or the crinkling of thin, stiff plastic, also makes for loud sounds.
Latest Answers