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The Image of Sound
In 1787, the German musician and physicist Ernst Chladni published 'Discovery of the Theory of Pitch.' In it, he describes experiments with sound vibration. He took metal plates covered with a fine grained sand and sent sound vibrations through the plates. Using this technique, he was able to analyze images of the sound of the violin versus the sound of other instruments. Chladni is known as the father of modern acoustics and his work formed the basis for the development of the oscilloscope and computer based sound modeling systems.
In my opinion, a significant aspect of Chladni's work should be re-examined by the digital media community. The oscilloscope and other screen based acoustic analysis systems present the sound waves on a 2-dimensional surface. Practically, this is effective since the standard computer interface uses a 2-dimensional flat screen. However, Chladni's initial experiments were also intriguing because his representations of sound using sand was 3-dimensional. Propogating sound waves surround us. We are literally submerged (or immersed) in these vibrations. Chladni translated these sounds into moving sculptures through his work, showing the 3-dimensional patterns of the sound waves.
In creating translations of weather data into surround sound environments, I have found that it is possible to create the experience of being immersed in the weather system. When listening to the sounds, my collaborator Dr. Glenn Van Knowe, a meteorological scientist at MESO, has found that he can hear something he calls 'gravity waves', a weather phenomenon in which the atmosphere creates a series of waves in the air. Invisible to the eye, these waves are detectable in the weather data gathered and behave like sound waves moving through space.
In fact, waves created in the air by pressure changes do create sound, the whistling of wind harmonics or the low rumble of thunder.
last modified Oct 25, 2003 at 11:43
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