Song sparrows adjust their songs to fit in with urban noise

While at Reed College in Oregon, Yezerinac and student William E. Wood examined the effects of urban noise on the song sparrow songs of Portland. They recorded 28 birds in areas with various levels of background noise, carefully measuring frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume; the amount of energy invested in making a sound).

Birds in the noisiest spots were more likely to cede some of their lower frequencies to background noise, while their songs' higher-frequency notes remained constant.

The Alchemists of Sound

2003 Documentary on the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Ken Nordine

from WBEZ's 848

Longtime Chicagoan Ken Nordine has a voice that can be mistaken for no other. The man behind Word Jazz and commercial voiceover artist turns 90 today. WBEZ’s Steve Edwards recently visited Nordine to talk about his life and career. Nordine told Steve he got the performing bug thanks to his mom’s religion.

The 'Pursuit Of Silence' In A World Full of Noise

From NPR

In his new book, In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise, Prochnik leaves the noisy confines of New York City and goes on a global quest to find those who still value silence. He examines the never-ending series of sounds that pervade his thoughts on a daily basis — the traffic helicopters, the leaky iPods, the neighbors who hold loud parties — and researches the scientific effects of noise on our bodies.

London Pirate Radio

Pirate radio is everywhere in London, born in the 60’s from rusting anti-aircraft towers in the mouth of the Thames. Today’s broadcasts are hidden in plain sight, transmitting from secret tower block studios via homemade rooftop antennas.

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop

RADIOPHONIC GALLERY

Record grooves under an electron microscope

Chris Supranowitz is a researcher at The Insitute of Optics at the University of Rochester. Along with a number of other spectacular studies (such as quantum optics, trapping of atoms, dark states and entanglement), Chris has decided to look at the relatively boring grooves of a vinyl record using the institute’s electron microscope. Well, not boring for me.

MW Burns

website of artist MW Burns

One Square Inch of Silence

One Square Inch of Silence is the quietest place in the United States.

One Square Inch of Silence was designated on Earth Day 2005 (April 22, 2005) to protect and manage the natural soundscape in Olympic Park’s backcountry wilderness. The logic is simple; if a loud noise, such as the passing of an aircraft, can impact many square miles, then a natural place, if maintained in a 100% noise-free condition, will also impact many square miles around it. It is predicted that protecting a single square inch of land from noise pollution will benefit large areas of the park.

Local radio proves a lifeline in Haiti

from PRI's The World

Communications are still disrupted in Haiti, hampering relief efforts. Cell phone service, is, however, slowly being restored, as are Internet connections. But in the aftermath of the earthquake, many Haitians have turned to local radio as a way to get, and share, information. We hear from Mario Viau, director of SignalFM in Port-au-Prince, which has somehow managed to keep broadcasting, on the airwaves and online, since the earthquake struck.

Acoustic Levitation Chamber

by Dr. David Deak:

This is an acoustic levitation chamber I designed and built in 1987 as a micro-gravity experiment for NASA related subject matter.
The 12 inch cubed plexiglas Helmholtz Resonant Cavity has 3 speakers attached to the cube by aluminium acoustic waveguides.
By applying a continuous resonant(600Hertz) sound wave, and by adjusting the amplitude and phase relationship amongst the 3 speakers; I was able to control levitation and movement in all 3 (x,y,z) axis of the ambient space.

Seed Magazine segment on Acoustic Ecology

Seed Magazine segment on Acoustic Ecology

Peoples Temple Radio Codebook

Peoples Temple used coded messages in shortwave broadcasts between Jonestown, Georgetown and San Francisco, in part to circumvent FCC regulations on conducting business over amateur airwaves. In the first section of codes, for example, Peoples Temple cloaked its legal discussions – which were not permitted under its HAM radio license – with references to medical procedures.

To ensure that different radio operators understood each other, the Temple created a code book of aliases and cryptic phrases, the contents of which are published below.

Rorschach Audio and the Cemetery of Sound - Electronic Voice Phenomena and Sonic Archives by Joe Banks

For those who may not be aware, Electronic Voice Phenomena are a class of allegedly "mysterious" vocal recordings, and while several explanations have been proposed to explain the origin of these sounds, the majority of EVP researchers believe that their recordings constitute evidence of contact with the afterlife. In other words most EVP researchers believe that it is possible, using various radio and electrical engineering techniques, to literally record the voices of ghosts.

The Real Story Behind Britain's Rock 'N' Roll Pirates

from NPR


Richard Curtis, director of the new film Pirate Radio, which is based on these events, was an 8-year-old boy confined to a posh boarding school when he first heard the broadcasts. While he wasn't allowed to listen to music during the day, he remembers hiding a radio under his covers at night .

SURROUND SOUND

Surround sound is a very broad term that covers many different audio configurations. The number of channels and the placement of the speakers vary with each format. 5.1 is the most common, but other types include many more channels and can even reproduce the experience of height. The future will very likely bring new formats and applications of the surround experience, such as the highly versatile format of 10.2.

Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio

The Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio is a crystal radio circuit in a jam-jar. It makes awesome spooky sounds when it responds to electromagnetic fields or light sources. This non-powered radio plugs into the computer sound-in jack, and makes use of audio software for real time sound effects.

An archaeological study of chirped echo from the Mayan pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza

by David Lubman

What is very interesting is that the chirped echo sounds arguably like the primary call of the Mayan sacred bird, the resplendent Quetzal.

Julian Treasure: The 4 ways sound affects us

Independent Radio Astronomer Thomas Ashcraft Captures Celestial Signatures

Artist and independent scientist, Thomas Ashcraft, moves easily between observing and sculpting microscopic terrestrial realms while recording and documenting celestial spheres.