Examining factors that determine creaky voice use

Vocal fry has a bad reputation in American English. A subtype of creaky voice, a feature of speech that sounds gravelly and pulse-like, this manner of speech is sometimes used to form judgment about the speaker. In many languages, ...

Exploring acoustic design for better, quieter prisons

Prisons are typically noisy environments, filled with clanking metal bars and echoing concrete surfaces. This level of constant noise is harmful to both prisoners and staff, but there are few guidelines for designing better, ...

Singing in the rain: Why the bundengan sounds better wet

A bundengan wears many hats—and is one too. This portable shelter woven from bamboo has protected Indonesian duck herders from the sun and rain for centuries. Able to comfortably balance on the wearer's head, a bundengan ...

Teaching physics from the din of flying discs

Disc golf is booming, with record numbers of players turning up each year to partake in the disc-throwing sport. It is also whizzing and whistling. In fact, the sound a disc makes while soaring through the air toward its ...

Exploring the soundscapes of other planets

You may know how other planets look, like the rust orange, dusty surface of Mars or the vibrant teal of Uranus. But what do those planets sound like?

Listening to the largest tree on Earth

Spread across 106 acres in southcentral Utah, the Pando aspen grove resembles a forest but is actually a single organism with more than 47,000 genetically identical aspen stems connected at the root. Pando is the world's ...

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