Playground

See the sound.

Interactive experiments on the physics and mathematics of sound, from Fourier series to room acoustics. Each runs in your browser, and the formulas are one click away.

Signals

The maths that turns sound into numbers, and back.

01HarmonicsWhy different instruments sound different on the same note.Open
02Drawing with circlesThe power of the Fourier series: any closed shape, drawn by spinning circles.Open
03UncertaintyHeisenberg’s uncertainty principle, for sound.Open
04AliasingWhy a CD samples sound 44,100 times a second.Open

Sound

How sound behaves in intervals, instruments and rooms.

05Lissajous figuresWhy some intervals sound more pleasant than others.Open
06Chladni figuresSand shows where a vibrating plate stands still.Open
07Sound in a roomWhy every room sounds different.Open

Perception

What the brain adds to what the ear receives.

08The missing fundamentalRemove the lowest harmonic of a note, and you still hear its pitch.Open
09The Shepard toneA tone that rises forever and never gets any higher.Open

Make

Put it together and make some music.

10Loop studioOpen

Like the maths?

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These experiments are small versions of the ideas our research teams work with, from signal processing to acoustics.

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