What makes us clap more for some performances than others? You'd think it's obvious: The better the show, the more applause. Think again. Guest host Linda Wertheimer explores how and why applause ...

Hand clapping is ubiquitous behavior for humans across time and cultures, serving many different purposes: to signify approval with applause, for instance, or to keep time to music. Acousticians often ...

When it comes to the former Beatles and their solo output, we are living in an age of abundance. For the past several years, the archival releases have been arriving hot and heavy. And while there has ...

Clapping is both a scientific event and a social gesture. A study explores the complex physics behind the sound of clapping. The noise originates from compressed air, not just hand collisions.

Modern American ballparks are surrounded by all the trappings of the fan experience: loud music, fried foods and cold beers, T-shirt guns, mascots dancing while the crowd sings about Cracker Jacks—and ...

In a pivotal scene from the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, a mutant claps his hands and blasts a shockwave across a battlefield. In a theater somewhere, Sunny Jung watched—and wondered. “It made me ...

A couple weeks back, I was at the awesome Beachland Ballroom in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, when I was lured into the venue’s adjoining tavern by a throng so frenzied I thought Lady Gaga must have ...