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Tymbal vibration
Cicadas make noise by vibrating a thin membrane called the tymbal. This membrane is pulled by muscles and then rapidly released, causing it to buckle and vibrate. The cicada's hollow abdomen acts as a resonance chamber, amplifying the sound, and having two tymbals on opposite sides creates a louder, more complex sound through constructive interference.
- 🔊 The "subway car" sound is the low-frequency resonance from the tymbals buckling, while the higher frequencies come from the wobbling of the buckling pleats.
- ⏱️ The tymbal can buckle and vibrate in as little as 6 milliseconds, with the high-speed camera capturing movements at up to 110,000 frames per second.
- 🧬 The two tymbals on opposite sides of the hollow abdomen work together, creating a louder sound through a phenomenon called constructive interference.
- 🎶 The complex mechanical action of the tymbals, involving progressive buckling and wobbling, creates multiple frequencies that correlate to the two distinct sounds heard from cicadas.
A man in a blue and white baseball cap points to a close-up image of a cicada's body, highlighting its vibrating parts.