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April 1, 2016
Image above: By analyzing data from collisions in the LHC experiments then using music to translate what they see, scientists have been able to make out faint patterns that sound like well-known tunes. (Image: Daniel Dominguez/ CERN).
Scientists at CERN have been using new techniques to try and learn more about the tiniest particles in our universe. One unusual method they’ve utilised is to turn data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) into sounds – using music as a language to translate what they find.
Physics data and music share many similar connections, from resonances and vibrations, to patterns and frequency. By sonifying the data, comparing it to a musical score and then applying what we know about music theory it can give researchers a different perspective on the data, and throw up unusual insights.
This is exactly what happened this week when physicists at CERN sonified the Higgs boson data. They were shocked when, after listening to random notes as the data played its random tune, a bump in the graph translated into a well-known pattern of recognisable notes.
“It’s surprising that such an awful piece of music would be found in such important data,” said Wilhelm Richard Wagner, a CERN physicist who works on the Valkyries theory. “I’d have expected the universe to sound even more dramatic, more like a film score…’
The team are now working on sonifying as much data as possible to see if further musical patterns can be recognised. The next step is to see if other physics theories, not just the Standard Model, have music in their background noise.
You can listen to the sonified Higgs boson in the video below:
Sonified Higgs data show a surprising result
Video above: Scientists were surprised by what they found in the Higgs boson data when they listened to it for the first time. (Vidéo : CERN).
Happy April 1st from the CERN!
Note:
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.
The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.
Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 22 Member States.
Related links:
Standard Model: http://home.cern/about/physics/standard-model
Higgs boson: http://home.cern/about/physics/search-higgs-boson
Large Hadron Collider (LHC): http://home.cern/topics/large-hadron-collider
For more information about the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), visit: http://home.web.cern.ch/
Image (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: CERN/Harriet Kim Jarlett.
