system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do internal combustion engines (ICE) get their characteristic sound, if it's only just a bunch of explosions?

I know how engines work, what makes them work etc. but this question has been on my mind for a while. How can a bunch of controlled explosions create the sound characteristic for a specific engine type? For example, a V6 engine sounds distinctly different than a V8 or I4, but how do they get their sound & why can't the sound be different, for example an I4 engine with the sound of a V12?
gpt
think of your exhaust the same as a brass musical instrument. When playing a trumpet or a tuba, the sound is generated the same, however, the output is totally different.


an exhaust system is the same way. Its 'tuned' for performance and sound based on length of the expansion chamber, the diameter of the pipe, the baffles etc....