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In Captain America: The First Avenger, Howard Stark introduces Vibranium to us, saying that it's 'a lot stronger than steel, and a third the weight, and it's completely vibration-absorbent'. This is while Steve is trying out the Vibranium shield.

And we all know that when you hit something, the reason it might make a sound, like the ringing of a bell or the sound of a gong, it's because hitting the object causes it to vibrate, thus causing the air around it to vibrate, and so we perceive this as sound. For a bell, the surface is smaller, so it vibrates faster (higher frequency) so the note we hear is higher. For a gong, the vibration frequency is lower, so the note is lower.

Then in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes punches the shield in the fight sequence on the bridge, just after he shoots Natasha. And the shield made a sound very similar to a gong.

How is this possible if Vibranium is supposed to absorb all vibration (being completely vibration-absorbent). The shield should not be making any sound at all when hit...

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    The same reason for certain movies you can hear explosions in space... because people expect an earth-shattering kaboom.
    – Radhil
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 14:48
  • Perhaps, but then why specifically mention that it is completely vibration-absorbent? They could have just said it's super light and super strong, but the vibration absorption was highlighted...
    – ASH-Aisyah
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 14:56
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    It's been painted. The warranty says not to paint it or you lose 20% of the advertised vibration-absorption qualities.
    – starpilotsix
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 14:59
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    But seriously, it's made of Vibranium but that doesn't necessarily mean EXCLUSIVELY vibranium. When Stark was giving his speech, it's ambiguous enough that he could have been talking about the properties of vibranium, pure, rather than of the shield specifically, and that impurities or deliberate additions for some desired quality made the shield, though made of vibranium, not as efficient and also that there are threshholds, it can absorb vibration completely... but only a certain amount at any one time, excess makes pings, gongs, etc.
    – starpilotsix
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 15:03
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    How do you know it wasn't Bucky's arm that did the vibrating?
    – Scott Whitlock
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 17:14

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