Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Solar Ultrasound - Bass Note In Music Of The Spheres
Ancient cosmology held that each of the planetary spheres corresponded to a different note in a universal musical scale. The tones emitted by the planets depended on the ratios of their different orbits in the same way that the length of a lyre-string determines its tone. The music of the spheres was contemplated by many respected philosophers, like Pythagoras, Plato, Pliny and Ptolemy. The English hermetic philospher Robert Fludd devised celestial scales that spanned three octaves, linking sub-planetary elemental worlds to angelic choruses beyond the stars.
(Robert Fludd's divine Monochord)
Now, in a letter published on December 10th in Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers report that the Sun's atmosphere is filled with ultrasound-like waves at a frequency of about 100 millihertz - every ten seconds. "At 10-second period, these waves qualify as ultrasound because individual atoms on the Sun experience only a few collisions during the brief passage of each wave, just as with ultrasound here on Earth," says Dr. Craig DeForest, a senior research scientist in the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division. DeForest found the signature in data collected in January 2003 in the TRACE program.
"These ripples seem to be carrying about 1 kilowatt of power per square meter on the surface of the Sun," says DeForest. "That is similar to the sonic energy you might find coming out of the speakers at a rock concert. Very loud."
Of course, sound cannot travel through the vacuum of interplanetary space. The TRACE spacecraft, in orbit around the Earth, is an ultraviolet telescope trained on the sun. TRACE data shows small fluctuations in the brightness of solar ultraviolet emissions. Solar ultrasound waves are too faint to be seen directly by TRACE. So, DeForest looked for patterns in the background noise of the telescope.
(From Solar Atmosphere)
This combined ultraviolet solar image shows the region of the solar atmosphere that was examined to find the waves. The full-Sun image was produced with the EIT telescope aboard the SOHO spacecraft (image courtesy of the SOHO EIT consortium), and the small inset shows the region that was examined with higher resolution by the TRACE telescope.
TRACE is the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer mission; it has an open data policy. TRACE data is available to anyone on the web. The intent of the program is to explore the magnetic field in the solar atmosphere; TRACE was launched in 1998 and uses a 30 centimeter apterture telescope with a 1024x1024 CCD collecting images over an 8.5 arc minute square field of view.
The waves or "ripples" are most likely created by the sudden collapse of magnetically induced electric currents (magnetic reconnection) or by lower frequency sound waves that crash like ocean waves as they make their way up from the surface of the Sun. Both of the sources are likely candidates for the source of the solar atmosphere's mysterious extra heat, making the new waves a valuable tool for exploring a decades-old mystery. "By examining these waves more closely, we should be able to discern the source of energy release in the solar atmosphere, just like you can tell by listening whether the car is running in a dark garage," says DeForest. "In both cases, something is releasing energy into the environment, and that release has a recognizable sonic signature."
(From Solar Ultrasound)
In this wave diagram, which summarizes nearly 1,000 TRACE images, the waves appear as sloped ridges, showing the presence of sound-like waves in the octave between 50 and 100 mHz. The waves travel about 1,000 times the speed of sound on Earth.
As far as I know, science fiction authors have never used a solar-sized mass as a musical instrument. However, sf is replete with other creative examples of instruments; see Isaac Asimov's visisonor or Jack Vance's stimic. Read more about TRACE, the music of the spheres and solar ultrasound.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/12/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 5 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.' -
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?' - Frank K. Kelly, 1935.
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
