CPI Archive 2008: Ever wonder about the math that underpins music? Me neither. Well, it's a good things that Professor David Acheson of Jesus College in Oxford is there to do that wondering for us. He spoke with Andrew Hamilton.
HAVE you ever wondered how opera singers can shatter a glass using only the power of voice? Of why some rooms (often bathrooms) are the perfect place for singing? The amazing truth behind this is that every object in the world, humans included, has a special frequency all to its own. Something as inanimate as a chair or even a block of concrete has a very specific musical note at which it cannot help but vibrate and dance. This, is the math of music. The world, when looked upon through these scientific eyes, can resemble an enormous piano, with endless notes that sound for every object, animal or even person. “My view of the world and mathematics is a very personal one really, it’s what I think mathematics is really all about and why it is so exciting. Mathematics, in my view, has a magic all of it’s own. For ex- ample a few years ago I discovered a new theorem; it’s an anti-gravity theory which is very very similar to the famous Indian rope trick. So for me mathematics is very exciting and all about surprises,” said Professor Acheson.
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