Marimba resonators amplify sound by capturing near-field energy that would otherwise short-circuit

Evidence

The NFC mechanism was well understood by Lord Rayleigh. However, it seems that ever since Rayleigh, the usual casual explanations, something like “there is a resonator near a source and it resonates! Resonators get loud on resonance!” have gradually dulled the mind and the level of understanding. The difficulty with the casual statement is that it is not an explanation, and, worse, it is false in some circumstances. For example, there can be a suppression of the sound if a monopole source, instead of a dipole or quadrupole source, is brought near the resonator. Capture, phase shifting, and reradiation still occurs, but now the phase-shifted, reradiated sound finds itself more or less destructively interfering with the direct sound from the monopole, depending on its distance to the resonator. It is quite shocking to hear this failure if one believes that any sound source should be amplified by proximity to a resonator. Dramatic amplification follows only from breaking a short-circuiting sound source. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1889 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Oppositely phased resonators short-circuit each other and prolong sound decay.; Helmholtz resonators serve as transducers, amplifiers, and sound controllers.; Dipole sources amplify through near-field capture, phase shift, and reemission by a resonator (+4 more)

Related

• Resonators amplify sound by capturing near-field energy and reradiating it with a phase shift (similarity 0.92)
• Dipole sources amplify through near-field capture, phase shift, and reemission by a resonator (similarity 0.88)
• Marimba is an idiophone coupling mechanical and air resonances through the NFC mechanism (similarity 0.87)
• Oppositely phased resonators short-circuit each other and prolong sound decay. (similarity 0.85)
• Sound near walls or large vessels is enhanced by scattering regardless of resonator tuning (similarity 0.82)
• Driving a sounding board near a clamped edge produces antiresonance (similarity 0.80)
• Simple hybrid instruments require many subtle acoustical principles to explain properly. (similarity 0.79)
• Proximity to a resonator suppresses, rather than amplifies, monopole sound sources (similarity 0.78)
• Helmholtz resonators serve as transducers, amplifiers, and sound controllers. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Marimba is an idiophone coupling mechanical and air resonances through the NFC mechanism #corroborates (0.90)
• Proximity to a resonator suppresses, rather than amplifies, monopole sound sources #complicates (0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1889
• Instrument bodies act as coupled resonators that shape and radiate sound #expands (0.75)
• Instrument design exploits impedance mismatches to create resonance and timbre #expands (0.72) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 83