THANK termites for the characteristic sound of the didgeridoo.
Traditionally, didgeridoos are made from eucalyptus branches that have been hollowed out by termites, and so have randomly shaped bores. Noam Amir of Tel Aviv University in Israel analysed eight didgeridoos and found that the randomness of the bores had a unique effect on the sound.
Wind instruments normally resonate at the fundamental frequency at which they are played and also at the fundamental’s higher harmonics. But Amir found that while a good didgeridoo resonated at the fundamental frequency, the random nature of the bore produced few, if any, of the…
