Exposition

Pythagorean Longings and Cosmic Symphonies: The Musical Rhetoric of String Theory and the Sonification of Particle Physics (2014)

Peter Pesic, Axel Volmar
open exposition

About this exposition

String theory posits very small “strings” whose various modes of vibration produce the observed particles and forces of nature, often described through analogies with music, especially Pythagorean harmonies. We analyze the rationales and implications for enlisting this archaic lore to explain such a modern theory, especially factors connecting internal and external aspects of scientific research: the economic pressure to promote a promising but unproven theory, the quasi-religious appeal of Pythagorean teachings and their consequent aesthetics of the “beautiful theory.” In contrast, sonifications of high energy physics data from the LHC seems to refer more to contemporary music than the “cosmic music” pioneered by Beethoven and carried forward by Stravinsky and Schoenberg.
typeresearch exposition
date26/11/2014
published02/12/2014
last modified02/12/2014
statuspublished
share statusprivate
licenseAll rights reserved
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/109371/109372
published inJournal of Sonic Studies
portal issue08. Issue 8


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id name copyright license
109903 Figure 5 Peter Pesic All rights reserved
109901 Figure 4b Peter Pesic All rights reserved
109899 Figure 4a Peter Pesic All rights reserved
109897 Figure 3 Peter Pesic All rights reserved
109895 Figure 3 Peter Pesic All rights reserved
109714 Sonification of Higgs data, Concert Version Domenico Vicinanca All rights reserved
109711 Marin Mersenne's diagram of the cosmic monochord - copy Mersenne All rights reserved
109709 Robert Fludd's diagram of the cosmis monochord - copy Fludd All rights reserved
109614 To Quark Jet sonification, from LHCSounds Lily Asquith and LHCSounds All rights reserved
109610 SoundObject 11, HiggsJetSimple Sonification Lily Asguith and LHCSound All rights reserved
109603 SoundObject 10: Event Monitor sonification, from LHC sounds. Lily Asquith and LHC Sound All rights reserved
109592 Sonification of Higgs Data "Concert version" Domenico Vicinanza All rights reserved
109583 Sonification of Higgs Data for piano and marimba Domenica Vicinanza All rights reserved
109574 Sonification of Higgs data for piano solo Domenica Vicinanca All rights reserved
109568 Fig-6b-atlas_higgs_score Domenica Vicinanza All rights reserved
109563 Higgs Boson data. CERN All rights reserved
109552 Schoenberg - String Quartet no. 2 Schoenberg All rights reserved
109546 Fig-5-Schoenberg op 10 example Schoenberg All rights reserved
109535 Stravinsky - Le sacre du printemps Stravinsky All rights reserved
109529 Fig-4-Stravinsky Sacre 4 Stravinsky All rights reserved
109527 Fig-4-Stravinsky Sacre 3 Stravinsky All rights reserved
109525 Fig-4-Stravinsky Sacre 2 Stravinsky All rights reserved
109523 Fig-4-Stravinsky Sacre 1 Stravinsky All rights reserved
109519 Beethoven - Symphony 9, fourth movement Beethoven All rights reserved
109516 Marin Mersenne's diagram of the cosmic monochord - copy Mersenne All rights reserved
109514 Robert Fludd's diagram of the cosmis monochord - copy Fludd All rights reserved
109510 Fig-3-Beethoven example 3 Beethoven All rights reserved
109508 Fig-3-Beethoven example 2 Beethoven All rights reserved
109506 Fig-3-Beethoven example 1 Beethoven All rights reserved
109504 Fig-3-Beethoven example 1 Beethoven All rights reserved
109501 Fig-2-violin-parker1987 Parker All rights reserved
109497 Marin Mersenne's diagram of the cosmic monochord Mersenne All rights reserved
109495 Robert Fludd's diagram of the cosmis monochord Fludd All rights reserved
109471 Iannis Xenakis - Pithoprakta Xenakis All rights reserved
109468 Stockhausen - Klavierstuck XI Karlheinz Stockhausen All rights reserved
109465 John Cage - Music of Changes John Cage All rights reserved
109449 What is Superstring Theory? Talk Nerdy to me. Huffpost Science 2012. All rights reserved
109417 Michio Kaku: The Universe is a Symphony of Vibrating Strings Big Think 2011 All rights reserved
109404 The Elegant Universe Part 3: Welcome to the Eleventh Dimension PBS All rights reserved
109374 sonicstudies-banner-964-3 Mannschaft All rights reserved

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