Why is it that during loud concerts you feel the bass in your chest but not the higher notes despite them being the same volume.
In: 153
There’s something called a sympathetic vibration, or resonance. Have you ever been making a noise that caused something nearby to rattle? Every object has its own frequency of vibration, and if sound waves hit it at that frequency (and sometimes at .5x or 2x or other related frequencies), it will start to vibrate. It’s the reason why a kazoo makes noise when you hum (the little paper vibrates at a lot of frequencies) but not when you blow.
This effect can be as wide ranging as a window rattling when you play bass to entire buildings designed to inhibit or enhance different vibrations (remember that an earthquake is a vibration).
Your chest has a relatively low frequency. If you hum as low as you can, you might even be able to test the range for yourself. Similarly, if you hum higher notes, you might feel the resonance in your skull and sinus cavities.
Latest Answers