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Subject:strange questions indeed!
Posted by: John 17:17
Date:3/18/2005 11:43:01 PM

Is there a simple way of determining how long a song's wavelength is? Like, is there a formula, say, 5 minutes of music = 1 mile of frequencies when you're zoomed in all the way?

Here's another strange question: is there a way to scan in a set of frequencies into SF so that it will play it back as music? For instance, how can I scan in my wife's birthing contractions to hear what the frequencies sound like? Or a lie-detector test converted to music? Has this ever been done using SF?

Message last edited on3/18/2005 11:47:49 PM byJohn 17:17.
Subject:RE: strange questions indeed!
Reply by: Chienworks
Date:3/19/2005 4:59:14 AM

I'll say those are strange! ;)

Here's the forumula:
      t = length of file in seconds
      s = sample rate
      r = horizontal resolution of your monitor
      w = width of your monitor display in inches
      z = zoom ratio (where 1:8 = 0.125)
length(miles) = t * s / r * w * z / 63,660

If you're in the metric world:
      w = width of your monitor display in cm
length(km) = t * s / r * w * z / 100,000

Just curious, but why in the world do you want to know?

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Stranger and stranger ...

Ummmmm, I think you'll have to explain what you're after in greater detail, or at least more information. How would your birthing contractions question result in something different than recording them with a microphone?

If you have the strip from a lie detector, you could tape it to the screen (or better yet, photocopy it to clear overhead projection sheets), then use the Pencil tool in Sound Forge to draw the same waveform on the screen. Scaling is a huge issue though. if you have 10 feet of strip and your screen is 15" wide set for 1024x768 and you zoom in 1:1 while drawing, you'll end up with 8192 samples. At 44.1KHz this is only about 0.186 seconds of sound.

Subject:RE: strange questions indeed!
Reply by: clyde2004
Date:3/20/2005 10:47:15 AM

"Stranger and stranger ..."

Many years ago I attended a series of "Space" lectures at the University of Michigan. The Prof. giving the lectures had 'inside' information because he knew people at JPL and NASA etc. Anyway one of the lectures was just after the first probe entered the Saturn system. Someone at JPL wondered what it would sound like as the probe passed thru Saturn's bow shock wave (the interface between a planet's magnetosphere and the solar wind - a bow shock wave is more commonly used to describe the wave caused by boats going thru water). There were no audio data in the telemetry so this JPL fellow devised some way to 'convert' part of the telemetry to audio. We heard the results that night.

So maybe there would be some way to do this with a lie detector or whatever.

CBG

PS The audio we heard that night sounded like............. a boat going through water.

Subject:RE: strange questions indeed!
Reply by: John 17:17
Date:3/20/2005 6:28:39 PM

Birthing contractions are recorded on a strip very much like a lie detector strip. They show both the intensity and the frequency of contractions like big waves; there is no sound for them; there is only the sound of the baby's heart beating inside the mother (besides the sound of the doctors and nurses in the room). But thnk you for that formula and the other information. Very good advice. Thank you. Leaving now to go get some transparencies! :)

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