Gun silencers do not make gunshots silent—they are suppressors that reduce the explosion intensity of ignited gunpowder.

'Silent' fireworks are not entirely noise-free

Objects that move faster than the speed of sound—Mach 1—create shockwaves called sonic booms by building up and forcing sound waves to combine as they lag behind the object.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

The bullwhip was the first human-made object to break the sound barrier, producing a small sonic boom heard as a crack when flicked quickly.

Watch over a dozen fireworks effects

Variations in rapidly expanding gas and mechanical elements produce fireworks sounds

Fireworks make a loud booming sound after explosion due to air expanding faster than the speed of sound.

The end of a gas nozzle has a small hole that helps cut off gas flow and prevent your tank from overflowing.

Through sonoluminescence, concentrated sound waves can produce short, high-intensity flashes of light by rapidly collapsing microscopic bubbles to temperatures up to twice that of the sun's surface.

Explore the chemical compounds found in fireworks

Thunder occurs when fast-flowing electricity heats and pressurizes air, causing it to expand and produce a shockwave at each point along the bolt at multiple frequencies.

When struck, objects vibrate at unique rates called resonant frequencies, which makes tapping wood sound different from tapping metal, but providing objects with sound at their resonant frequency can cause them to shatter.

Components of the 'ghost gun' allegedly used by Luigi Mangione were 3D printed

Internal-combustion engines convert fuel into motion using controlled explosions

Noise-canceling headphones use a microphone to identify external sounds, which are then used to produce an out-of-sync version of those sounds to cancel them in your ears.

Pickleballs' loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, equivalent to the sound of a hammer striking a nail.

In television and film, certain sounds, such as dialogue, may be difficult to understand due to sound mixing, device limitations, and technological advancements that have collectively reduced clarity.

Many dogs enjoy squeaky toys because they mimic prey sounds, appealing to the animals' hunting instincts.

See this graphic describing what different decibel levels mean for hearing loss.

Objects can be levitated by sound using an apparatus that causes these waves to interfere and combine, creating a 'pressure cage.'

Fireworks' chemical composition and internal layout produce their unique displays

View a collection of sound animations, which depict how a source of sound waves pushes against particles to carry energy away without matter being displaced.

The three smallest bones in the human body—the malleus, incus, and stapes—amplify the vibrations of sound waves by almost 20 times to help enable hearing.

The composition of magma affects the explosivity of volcanic eruptions

Audi spent over three years developing engine sounds for its electric vehicles

Lasers can be used to reduce the motion of atoms because particles of light—photons—can collide with particles of matter, as billiard balls do, to slow them down.

A person's voice sounds different when breathing helium, sulfur hexafluoride, or gases other than air because the speed of sound varies with the properties of the material through which it travels.

Turbulence is needed to make airplanes more stable and golf balls fly farther

Drum shields—barriers that drummers are often seen playing behind—help prevent drums from being picked up by other onstage microphones, thereby improving audio mix quality.

Auroras produce crackling, popping, and rustling sounds, according to anecdotal reports from people in Arctic regions, though scientists have dismissed these claims.

By igniting flammable gas in a tube filled with holes and playing music into it, the fire will take the shape of the sound waves, enabling the visualization of audio.

Likened to a car backfiring or a faraway cannon fire, skyquakes have been reported worldwide in Earth's atmosphere without any obvious cause.

The deaths of massive stars and the mergers of neutron stars and black holes can produce gamma-ray bursts—jets of particles moving in opposite directions at near-light speed that comprise the universe's most powerful explosions.

Within an anechoic chamber, all surfaces are covered with specialized materials that prevent wave reflection, helping prevent sound from echoing in the space.

Unlike the roars in movies, dinosaurs likely cooed, rumbled, and boomed

Scientific applications of bubbles include logic gates, laser production, and medical imaging

Ultrasound machines emit and receive high-frequency sound waves to construct images of the body's interior, with differences in the penetrating power of different frequencies allowing medical professionals to identify different structures.

The decibel scale measures sound intensity, with hearing damage occurring after prolonged exposure to sounds above 85 decibels—equivalent to a noisy lawnmower.

Metal detectors resemble bats, but they detect objects using electromagnetic waves rather than sound waves.

Nuclear-powered missiles replace chemical combustion with energy from nuclear fission

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

A sound's pitch will seem to change if the listener or the source moves toward or away from the other because motion changes the time it takes each successive sound wave to reach the listener.

High-frequency sound waves have been used to brew espresso with room-temperature water and about one-fourth the energy of a traditional espresso machine, which relies on hot water and pressure.

Cosmic rays are thought to be accelerated to near the speed of light by repeatedly bouncing across shockwaves produced by high-energy cosmic events, such as supernovae.

The collapse of gas bubbles in the joint synovial fluid causes 'cracking' knuckles.

See what loud noises do to inner ear hair cells

Tornadoes produce inaudible signals to humans hours before forming

Some materials can absorb low-energy light and emit high-energy radiation

A shaken can of soda can be safely opened by tapping on the sides of the container.

The Cybertruck's custom alloy exoskeleton withstood gunfire