The Radioactive Orchestra

I stumbled across a pretty neat (and interactive) site...
(Mods, this contains both science and music, so if you feel this is not the appropriate place, please move).

The Radioactive Orchestra converts radiation released by isotopes into musical notes. A DJ, Axel Boman, has even made an album featuring said isotopes.

Ever heard the sound of an atom decaying? Meet the orchestra transforming ionising radiation into music.

The team behind the Radioactive Orchestra converted the signature pattern of radiation released by each of a few thousand unstable isotopes into sound. The energy of the radiation determines the frequency of the notes: high energy radiation will create a high-pitched note, and vice versa.

The result is an ethereal series of notes corresponding to each isotope’s unique radiation fingerprint. Some produce abstract, disjointed beeps whilst others weave more intricate harmonies. To the casual listener it may just sound pretty, but the nuclear physicists who helped with the project can perceive much more.

The radiation given off by atoms delivers vital clues to the inner workings of the nucleus, and studying this radiation is therefore a fundamental aspect of nuclear physics research. Physicists usually ‘see’ radiation as graphs known as energy spectra, so hearing isotopes is a whole new experience for them too.

Source


Here's a short video of the team behind it all:





You can visit the Radioactive Orchestra's homepage (link below) to hear what is most often seen in graphs. You can add up to five isotopes at once, playing around with pitch, tempo, BPM, change wave type, and so on. Some might find it boring, myself, I find it a bit addicting lol. Be sure to read the 'about' section of the page for a more in-depth explanation of the science behind it.

The Radioactive Orchestra

Happy 'radioactive' music-making

That's pretty amazing! They say musical notes are depicted through maths..through the Fibonacci sequence. The ratios between the numbers as well describe the musical frequencies. So no wonder we can convert radiation to sound...and tbh, it's just about converting the energy.

Rather cool find! Thanks

I am making my own atom tunes now and dancing round the room to the sound of atom decay....