Weird science!

[flewellyn]

So, I was showing my friends on AIM a couple of extremely geeky examples of musical science.

First, the theme from "Super Mario Bros." as played on tesla coils:

And second, the theme from "The Legend of Zelda" on theremin, with synth backing:

To which my friend Magda said the following:

madelinetalks: Cute. I want one of those!
madelinetalks: Are you sure it's not magic?
Eyerleth: Yeah, they're pretty darn cool!
Eyerleth: It's not magic, it's SCIENCE!
madelinetalks: Sufficiently weird science is indistinguishable from magic!

Comments

[creepers58.livejournal.com]

The Tesla Coils have me mesmerized. I shall now have to do their bidding.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

The coils command you to bring Ed Season 2 of SG-1!

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

That's some pretty skilled Theremin playing there!

As for the coils - boggled. Are they for real?

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Very much so. They produce electrical bursts at different frequencies to create sound. The coils are each assigned to one MIDI channel, fired in a sequence controlled by a computer.

There are no speakers. The electrical bursts are extremely loud by themselves.

[cowsrule97.livejournal.com]

Science, it works, Bitches!

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

I should have known you'd be an XKCD fan. :-)

Wow

[lalael.livejournal.com]

Those are quite possibly the most amazing things I have seen all year if not EVER! Wow! That is so awesome! I want a theremin now! Damn, it's so cool!

Re: Wow

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Sure is! And the principles behind how they work are amazing, too. I am major geek.

[naivivivian.livejournal.com]

glorious man

Now I need to build me some tesla coils and learn to set them up to play all my favorite 16bit songs...

Mmmm, original Chrono Trigger songs.... *swoon*

[naivivivian.livejournal.com]

ooh, or scratch that, I need to steal the giant two-story set from the Science Museum in Boston and be a mad musical scientist of Nintendo glory! MUAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

I would love to see a band that played music using tesla coils and theremins. And other truly "electronic" instruments.

[naivivivian.livejournal.com]

I would demand the entire band wear 80's piano key ties that actually work.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

How about 8-bit Ties (http://www.thinkgeek.com/apparel/hats-ties/9352/)?

[naivivivian.livejournal.com]

awesomely acceptable. =^.^=