Loud bangs require surface accelerations exceeding one hundred times gravity.

Evidence

A displacement of the surface by a millimeter in a millisecond (a very large displacement, which would lead to a loud bang) implies only a modest velocity of the surface of around 1 m/s. But the acceleration of the surface is impressive: velocity equals acceleration multiplied by the time the acceleration was acting. To reach 1 m/s in 0.001 second is an acceleration of 1000 meter per second squared—over 100 times the acceleration due to gravity. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 698

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains why ‘bang’ correlates with acceleration (not velocity or displacement) of a vibrating surface.