![]() ![]() ![]() Students conducted preliminary tests to obtain baseline measurements without nearby buildings. ![]() “So my theory was that the sound was from the ground, hitting the grooves between the stone tiles and, therefore, the sound was scattering back toward the clapper.” “It had to be coming from close by,” Bolton says. “Generally, when we look at the timing of the return of noise, the returns come back much sooner than they would if they had to travel to the bench or buildings and back,” he says.īolton’s theory focused on the speed of sound being about one foot per millisecond, with the clapping circle sounds returning in just a few milliseconds. Others felt the reflections come from buildings in the surrounding areas.īolton had his own theory. According to Bolton, some people at Purdue had believed rounded benches positioned around the circles reflect the clapping noise. The team based its research on three widely known theories. “We quickly made our supply list and wrote the proposal, submitted it by the deadline, and we learned our proposal was awarded - all in short time.” “When we decided to pursue the clapping circle project, the deadline to apply for the grant was that same week, so this almost didn’t happen,” says past ASA president Elspeth Wing, a senior studying acoustical engineering. Stuart Bolton, a mechanical engineering professor who specializes in acoustics and noise control.Įqually curious, ASA members decided to launch a research project in fall 2019 and secured funding through the Student Organization Grant Allocation Board. “We’ve been aware of the clapping circle phenomena for many years and have always had this idea that it would be fun to do some measurements to find exactly what the effect is,” says J. For years, Purdue scholars have wondered what causes this. The attraction of any clapping circle centers around an unexpected squeak - the sound returned to the clapping individual. On Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, there are 10 such circles besides the most famous one, which are landscape architectures made of stone tiles laid in concentric circles. Since 1996, students and visitors have discovered a clapping circle in Academy Park, located between Heavilon Hall and the corridor that separates Purdue Memorial Union from Stewart Center. Equally impressive, ASA members have proven the related theory of a Purdue acoustical engineering professor. Purdue University’s chapter of the Acoustical Society of America can now explain the sound heard when someone claps at the noted “clapping circle” on campus. ![]()
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