This Astronomer Turns Gamma Ray Explosions into Music

August 9, 2014 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

Just because no one can hear you scream in space doesn’t mean that sound can’t exist Out There. And it doesn’t have to be sound in the conventional sense. Any electromagnetic radiation can be translated into something we can hear.

This includes mysterious gamma ray bursts, among the most powerful and energetic (not to mention mysterious) emissions in the known universe. A graduate student in physics at the University of Maryland, College Park named Sylvia Zhu is studying gamma-ray bursts. “What,” she wondered, “would these things sound like? Could they be translated into music?”

Why, yes. Yes, they can.

Read the whole story at Mashable.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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