ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Tone burst

Hi there! Do you know what sound is? It's what we hear when someone talks, or when we play music! Sometimes, we want to make a very specific sound that is different from talking or music. This is where tone burst comes in!

A tone burst is a special sound that is made up of a very short, but very loud noise. Think of clapping your hands really fast and really loud, that's kind of what a tone burst sounds like!

Scientists and engineers use tone bursts a lot when they are testing things. For example, if they want to see if a microphone is working properly, they might make a tone burst and listen to how the microphone picks up the sound. Or, if they want to see how strong a bridge is, they might make a tone burst and measure how the vibrations travel through the bridge.

Tone bursts are really useful because they help us to make very precise measurements and tests, kind of like a special tool that we can use to get really specific information. So next time you clap your hands really fast and really loud, just remember that you are making a mini tone burst!