This video centers on an intriguing endeavor to capture and understand the fascinating noise-making mechanism of cicadas using high-speed videography. Destin explores the environment brimming with cicadas in Alabama, seeking to comprehend the distinct sounds these insects create. The video takes us from a basic explanation of cicada anatomy, focusing on the timbal mechanism, to an in-depth examination using ultra-high-speed cameras to visualize the actual process of sound generation.

The creators grapple with the challenge of filming such a swift action, offering a mix of scientific insights and hands-on adventure. Using the expertise of sound specialist Gordon McGladdery, the video explores the possibility of dual frequency production within these intricate organisms, hypothesizing the resonance and interference phenomena as a potential explanation.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. entomologist [ˌɛntəˈmɑːlədʒɪst] - (n.) - A scientist who studies insects. - Synonyms: (insectologist, bug scientist, arachnidologist)

I happen to know an entomologist. His name is Phil Torres.

2. resonance chamber [ˈrɛzənəns ˈtʃeɪmbər] - (n.) - A hollow space or cavity that amplifies sound by increasing the resonance of sound waves. - Synonyms: (acoustic cavity, echo chamber, amplification chamber)

This bottom part of its body is actually hollow and that serves as a resonance chamber.

3. exoskeleton [ˌɛksəʊˈskɛlɪtn] - (n.) - An external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body. - Synonyms: (shell, outer skeleton, carapace)

They shed their exoskeleton, they have these wings, and then they go.

4. frequency [ˈfriːkwənsi] - (n.) - The rate at which a vibration or a wave, such as sound, occurs over a particular period of time. - Synonyms: (rate, oscillation, periodicity)

I wish I knew what frequency that was

5. spectrogram [ˈspɛktrəˌgræm] - (n.) - A visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies in a sound or other signal. - Synonyms: (frequency map, sound chart, wave diagram)

So now we can look at the spectrogram with a new understanding.

6. constructive interference [kənˈstrʌktɪv ˌɪntərˈfɪərəns] - (n.) - This occurs when two or more waves meet and create a resultant wave of greater amplitude. - Synonyms: (wave reinforcement, positive interference, wave amplification)

That it's something called constructive interference, which is interesting.

7. timbral [ˈtɪmb(ə)rəl] - (adj.) - Relating to the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity. - Synonyms: (tonal quality, sound quality, harmonic texture)

That's the thimble. This is 25,000 frames per second. It's like a reed.

8. resonating [ˈrɛzəˌneɪtɪŋ] - (adj.) - Producing or being filled with a deep, full, reverberating sound. - Synonyms: (echoing, resounding, reverberating)

My second guess is that the cicada is resonating in two frequency bands, which is interesting because that requires two sets of vibration of some kind

9. wobble [ˈwɒbəl] - (v.) - To move or cause to move unsteadily from side to side. - Synonyms: (shake, sway, totter)

So it's like buckle, wobble, wobble, buckle, wobble, wobble.

10. decibel [ˈdɛsɪˌbɛl] - (n.) - A unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale. - Synonyms: (sound level unit, noise measurement, audio unit)

And it, like, tells you the decibel level and you can do all sorts of things.

How Do Cicadas Make Noise? (In Slow Motion) - Smarter Every Day 299

Hey, it's me, Destin. There's a story that I've been trying to tell for a very, very long time, and I tried to tell it back in Peru in 2012, and I failed. Today we're going to tell that story, but we got to go back to Peru first.

Hey, it's me, Destin. Welcome back to Smarter Every Day. So stop and listen for a second. You hear that? If you live anywhere but Antarctica, you have those near you. They're called cicadas. And I happen to know an entomologist. His name is Phil Torres. We're here at Tamipata Research center, and Phil is going to explain to us what exactly is causing that noise. So there's a couple things going on here. There's one part that is called the timbal. So this is where it's kind of like the top of a Snapple bottle. If you click it, a lot of times it's going to make a noise. However, what's really cool about these guys is this bottom part of its body is actually hollow and that serves as a resonance chamber. So what we're going to try to get on the high speed is to see how fast it is that this is actually vibrating to make that sweet. So I've got the high speed set up at 3,000 frames per second, but I'm not good enough to focus on this. So that's what Jeff's doing. Jeff is the photo tour guide here at Rainforest Expeditions. We struggled to try to get the cicada in the right spot for a long time, and we never could quite get the shot. We couldn't tell if it was because of our frame rate or if we just didn't know where to look on the cicada. I think that thing's opening and shutting in less than a millisecond. No way. It actually ended up being 6 milliseconds. But more about that later.

I want you to understand the reality of cicadas in Alabama right now. As you probably heard by now, there's two different broods of cicadas. Some pop out after 13 years, some pop out after 17 years. I think we have the 13 year brood here in Alabama, or both. I don't know. But what I do know is they're absolutely everywhere. Like, you'll be driving down the road and a cicada will just land on your windshield wiper and hitch a ride, in this case, five miles, which blew my mind that he was able to hang on that long. I went to one of my favorite restaurants the other day, there's just a cicada on the floor. And the people that own the restaurant, they keep a very tidy restaurant. But if the door opens for any amount of time, you're just going to get cicadas. It's just going to happen. They're like ants now. So these are coming out of the cutter just everywhere. This particular tree for some reason. Look at all the holes in the ground where they've been coming up. Oh, my goodness, that's nuts. They must come up, crawl up the tree is this. What kind of tree is this? The cicada tree is that. And then these are all their. I guess they're called shells. But like, look at this. It's nuts. And it doesn't smell great. It's inches thick. It's crazy. That is a lot of cicadas.

So to be clear, these cicada exoskeletons are the result of the cicadas, which have been living underground for years and years and years, depending on what brood it is. 13 or 17 years they've been living underground, sucking SAP and nutrients off of tree roots. They come up out of the ground and then they go. They hang on a tree, they shed their exoskeleton, they have these wings, and then they go. Try to sing and mate. And what we've been trying to show with that video in Peru, which was this slow motion camera right here, we were trying to show what's making the noise, like what part of the cicada is so loud. That thimble that Phil was talking about. Now, the fact that this camera couldn't show it is a significant thing because this goes thousands of frames per second.

So today we're gonna try to continue telling the story with this camera, which can go 100,000 frames per second. But the problem is we need a cicada, and I have misplaced the one I had here. So we have to go cicada hunting. This is George. Hello. It's time. It's overwhelmingly. We have to. We have to do it. Well, we have to try.

So here's the deal. It's 2024. The cicadas are out in force. Two broods are out. My understanding is only one brood is here in Alabama. I don't really know all that. It's a big brood, though. It's huge. I don't remember it being this loud. It's. It's crazy. Like, we're here. We're gonna get out of the truck and just let you hear this. It's insane. We're on a wildlife refuge. Which is why I can film and drive. So how would you describe this? There's two sounds, right? Yeah. There's like a high pitch clicking. Yes. And then the. Somehow underneath it, there's this low thing that I describe as like when a subway train is pulling into a station before it gets there. Like when it's still like 100 yards down the tunnel and you can hear it coming. It's like the slipping of the metal wheels on the track.

Yes, that's exactly what it is. Okay, so I'm looking at this. I've been trying to think of what is that sound? And that's exactly it. You just connected it. I think this is a. This might be a wildlife refuge guy. It is. That's us. Oh, how's it going? Hey, are y'all wildlife refuge people? Yes, sir. Are you. I'm making a video. Is that okay? Yeah, I'm here making a video about cicadas. Oh, okay. What. What. What's. I'm Destin. Okay. Hi, I'm Mackenzie. Nice to meet you, Mackenzie. Nice to meet you. Tyler. Tyler. We're pathways intern for the Fish and Wildlife Service. So you're interns? Yes. Yes, sir. What can you tell me about the cicadas?

They're loud. Cicadas. They're loud and obnoxious. I know there's different types of groups of cicadas that are not hatching but coming up. I don't know if this is the 13 or the 17 year cycle, but I think they're all coming up around the same area at the same exact time. Like where the loudest they'll be around the edges of the trees. That's what I think anyway. Like, they're louder right here than if you go deep into the woods. Deep into the woods? Yes. Really? We've noticed, like, on outside edges, when you're like. You would think if you go into them, it'd get louder, but we've noticed that they're loud, like, on the outside.

Can you write us a cicada permit so we can. We can go cicada hunting. An app. And it, like, tells you the decibel level and you can do all sorts of things. See, it'll start doing data. So I think that top band, the high band is the high pitch one. Then this very consistent one is the thing that I. The subway car sound like car sound. Now our voices are gonna mix in with if we let it rip for a second.

What I want to know is, like, what causes the top one? What causes the bottom One there, like, two different animals doing, like, one male and one female. Like, are there, like, is there a call and response or is there, like two different creatures? Is it one creature making two different noises at once? So there's clearly two sounds going on here, and we gotta figure out why. And one of the smartest people I know when it comes to sound is Gordon McGladdery. He makes all the slow-motion sound and the music for Smarter Every Day. And to top it all off, the first time I ever collaborated with Gordon, he wrote a song called Cicadas Waltz which actually incorporated the sounds of cicadas into the song.

I made a slow motion video of bottles blowing up, and Gordon made a song for that video. So let's ask Gordon what's going on. All right, this is Gordon Shell in the pit. He does all the audio and the music you're going to hear later in this episode. Gordon wrote it. Did you get the file I sent you? I did. Can you open that, please? Yes. Out in the field, we saw two frequencies, and I want to show it to you.

What is this? This is a spectrum analyzer. Spectrum analyzer. That stuff off to the right is us talking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. I wish I knew what frequency that was. Are you screen recording? I'm recording the data. All right, so can you show us what's going on over here to the left? Okay. We have two distinct frequency bands. One is between 1000 and 1200 hertz, and then the other is roughly 3000 to 9 or 10,000 hertz if we listen to them separately. So that's what George says.

Sounds like a subway car to him. One of the teachers around here said it sounds like the Star Trek teleporter. Yeah, it's cool. The other one is, I think the one that most of us would recognize as like, yeah, that's cicadas. So here's the question. What's the other one? What's the streetcar sounding thing? My guess is that these are not two separate insects. I think that would be the first thing we jump to is like, these are two different animals, but we can see that they are both happening all the way across.

My second guess is that the cicada is resonating in two frequency bands, which is interesting because that requires two sets of vibration of some kind. I bet it maths out. You'll see that they're somehow related. Using the information we got from the wildlife refuge interns, we found a clearing that was about 100 yards away from the Tennessee river. And we found the Mother load of cicadas. We need a net. Why do we. Why do we not have a net? There's gonna be one right here. Oh, they're doing it. They're making other cicadas.

Oh, dude, can I see that? Yeah, do it. This seems to be the point. Look at this. They're mating. What are you doing under there? Well, two cicadas love each other very much. This is how they make baby cicadas. So here's a question I have. If these things come out every so many years, then what happens? Do they plant eggs? They're connected, dude. Yeah, Got one. There you go. Get in there, get in there. Two. Don't eat that. We have four. We've got four cicadas. Oh, they're loud. I think we ought to go do slow mo before we lose sun. Yeah, let's go try slow mo.

Okay. The cicada hunting trip took longer than expected. So we rushed back to try to beat the sun in order to get at least one slow mo shot before the end of the day. Hit it. All right. We're going to see something. Yeah, you can see. I can see. Yeah. Oh, dude, we're gonna see it. Holy cow. We're totally gonna see it. So that's the thimble. This is 25,000 frames per second.

It's like a reed. And this is like hollow. Yeah. Okay. The bad news is I found a 10 year old jar of jelly in my fridge. The good news is it has the exact type of lid I need because it's the same type of lid that was on this jar of jalapenos. Okay. So look at this. When you click this thing like this, it's pretty loud. But when you put it on a resonant chamber, I don't know if you can hear that. It's a lot louder. That's how the abdomen of a cicada works. It's hollow on the, on the end there.

And so as the temple's vibrating, it is resonating in the abdomen down below, which I think is fascinating. Now imagine instead of just one timbal and a resonant chamber, imagine if we had a can like this and we had one on one side and one on the other. It would be much louder. But it's not just louder because there's two timbals. I've read some papers and they all have very interesting things to say. It looks like because you have a temple on each side of the hollow cavity abdomen, that it's something called constructive interference, which is interesting.

Now the Cool thing about the cicada right here is if you look at a cross section of the hollow abdomen, you've got a tymbal over here and you've got a tymbal over here. So that kind of acts like the two cans like this, only they're not popping like this. They're kind of folding back and dithering or whatever we're going to figure out on the high speed. So when they're producing sound, they're being pulled by muscle, muscles like this. And because they're opposite each other and the muscles can control them at exactly the same time, you can create a sound wave from each at the same time. And they kind of hit and add together and you get a much louder sound. I think that's amazing. And the thing that's really interesting to me is it's not a click like these jars like I was expecting.

There seems to be a lot more going on than just one simple click. Your face, dude, is like, what I just don't like. I know. Look at it. Okay, there he goes. We're at 25,000 frames per second. If we knew the frequency of the sound, we could calculate the vibration. Yes, we ran out of light. So the next day we went and borrowed a net from a gas station and we went cicada hunting again. So I got a cricket bucket. They should be able to go in there without getting cooked. So it's an open top. Open top. We gotta transfer our most important message to this. I think this kid is do not eat.

Did you get it? Yeah, yeah. That's one. Get it. He's loud. Oh, he missed. That was nice. That was backhand. That was backhanded. That was impressive. That made up for a couple of. The other couple were pretty bad. After we collected all of our cicadas for the day, we put them all in our little trap. We remembered not to eat them, and then we headed back to set up the slow mo. This time we were going to try a shot at 99,000 frames per second. Get it? Yeah, we got it. Then we ramped it up to 110,000 frames per second.

If you look at several of the clicks over a sequence, if you realign it so that you can compare three different ones, you can see that the depth of the contraction of the muscle that's controlling the tymbal is different on different strokes. We wanted to see the thimble really, really close at really high speed. So we switched from the 100mm macro to a 65 megabe, which is basically a Lens with a built in macro extension tube. Tube. I don't think the muscles pulling and relaxing, Pulling and relaxing. It's pulling and it's getting each one of these strands, essentially. And so it looks like it's going, pull, vibrate, pull, vibrate, pull, vibrate.

I think it's what's happening, but I think it has to overcome the force of each of the mechanical. The stress force of each of these. Yeah. So then that's what each one. It goes. So it pops, pops, pops. I'm imagining an arch, and you have to buckle each arch. And it's easier to buckle a longer arch than it is to buckle a shorter arch. So if you pull from one side and you start pulling in, it's like. It's like a progressive buckling. Progressive buckling? Is that a thing?

A direct approach to progressive buckling. Design science. Strike in case buckling occurs due to progressively increase. It's intentional buckling. Progressive buckling. Progressive buckling. We're just making words up. We are, but somebody else has used them in a scientific. In a scientific paper. Okay. So we can clearly see what's happening mechanically, but it's not obvious how this is translating into sound. So it's time to go show this to Gordon and see what he thinks. It looks like it's caving in.

It looks uncomfortable. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. One, two, three. One, two, three. 1, two, three. So it's like three, four, time or triplets, however you want to math it out. So if you look at the timbal in Slo mo, we have three things happening. It's like you've got all these striations or these pleats, and they're buckling progressively as it goes up. Right. But as they buckle, they each wobble. So it's like buckle, wobble, wobble, buckle, wobble, wobble. And that happens all the way up.

And then whoomph. The whole thing resets. So now we can look at the spectrogram with a new understanding. We have this mechanical device that's doing multiple actions, and then we have this spectrogram that has multiple frequencies. My guess are that the wobbles correlate to the higher frequencies on the spectrogram. And the buckling, the progressive buckling is the subway sound. But I don't really know. So I don't want to come down definitively until I've had time to, like, do a detailed time analysis and measure the delay of each mechanical action. Furthermore, as millions of cicadas interact in and out of phase in a small area. Who knows what that does acoustically? I think it's so cool that years ago, Gordon wrote a song called Cicadas waltz without us realizing that the mechanical timbal of a cicada works on the same time beats as a waltz.

I think that's awesome. We have a problem. We have all of these cicadas left that we can't eat. And the way I want to release them incorporates the sponsor for today's video, Dan at Ridge Said Destin. We would love for you to incorporate our products into your video in some way. I'm going to test the relationship right now. I'm gonna. I don't think they were thinking beauty shots with cicadas. And I'll. I'll tell you about Ridge as these cicadas are flying away.

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If you're an academic and you think this Cicada thimble footage would be helpful for you, reach out. I would love to communicate about that and see if we can figure out some of the stuff that's going on here. The thing I haven't seen described in the literature so far is this wobbling that we're seeing here. So yeah, reach out. Let's write something up. Also, I just want to say I'm very happy to hear that people that are patrons, patrons of Smarter Everyday seem to be happy with the fact that they were able to download the high res version of the 2024 eclipse photo. Thank you for supporting on Patreon. If you've ever considered doing that, it's a good time. You can, you can download that really cool photo and I'm grateful. Thank you for supporting SmarterEveryday@patreon.com SmarterEveryday

Thank you very much. Feel free to subscribe or sign up for the email list if you're into that sort of thing. If not, no big deal. I'm destin you're getting smarter every day. Have a good one. Bye.

Science, Technology, Innovation, Cicada, High-Speed Videography, Entomology, Smartereveryday