Jump to content

Turning data into music: listen to the sound of a neutron star


dcl

Recommended Posts

Meet the scientist who turns data into music—and listen to the sound of a neutron star


From stock trends to changes in Earth’s temperature, data that vary over time are usually represented in graphs and charts. How boring! What if, instead, one could listen to the sudden drop of a stock price or the steady increase of global temperatures? Enter sonification, the process of transforming flat data into mellow soundwaves.  Mark Ballora, an expert on music technology at Pennsylvania State University in State College, uses sonification to create symphonies out of scientific data. Raised in the 1960s just outside San Francisco, California, by an architect and a pianist, Ballora lived and breathed music, playing piano, listening to Beatles records, and attending Grateful Dead gigs. For the past 20 years, he has collaborated with dozens of scientists to turn all kinds of data into music, from the energy emitted by a neutron star to the body temperature cycle of arctic squirrels.


 


  • Thank You 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...