Why do some metals ring when struck while others don’t?

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Why do some metals ring when struck while others don’t?

In: Physics

22 Answers

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So when you look at a material and zoom way in on it, you’ll see each molecule or atom of the material. When struck, the force will make each molecule or atom move a tiny bit, passing the force along to the next one minus a small amount of energy. Depending on how much each atom wants to stick to the others the material will vibrate as a shock wave runs through it.
Some metals are soft, the molecules or atoms are loose and don’t want to stick very much. These have lower tones and ring less.
Some metals are hard, the molecules are close and tight together, these have a high pitched ring.

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