Musical periodic table being built by turning chemical elements’ spectra into notes
Computer code that converts each element into a unique piece of music could provide a novel way to expand chemistry communication
A researcher at Indiana University in the US, who just received a degree in music composition and chemistry, has turned elements’ spectra into haunting music.
W Walker Smith has built computer code to convert each element’s spectrum into a mixture of notes. He hopes that transforming the light into sound frequencies will make it easier to detect elemental differences, and also help to teach chemistry. Smith reported this first step toward creating an interactive, musical periodic table at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on 26 March.