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The Hundred Million Mile Pipe Organ

Posted by kdawson on from the louder-than-yours dept.

jd writes "Scientists have announced that the gigantic coils of plasma in the solar atmosphere, known as coronal loops, actually carry sound waves much like a pipe organ. Micro-flares on the surface of the sun create powerful blasts of charged particles, which are then guided through the coronal loops, creating the standing waves. Sheffield University is hosting movies and audio recordings of the sun's performance."

76 comments

  1. Dude. by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    He said organ. heheh heh heheheh.

    1. Re:Dude. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      don't forget to watch these clips on the website.. wang_mov1.avi wang_mov2.avi

  2. I translated the song and it says... by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..."La la la, I'm going to heat up and cook that little blue planet, just for the hell of it, la la la...."

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:I translated the song and it says... by number1scatterbrain · · Score: 2, Insightful

      La, La, La, that little blue planet is heating up and cooking itself, La, La, La...

      --
      Remember the future...
    2. Re:I translated the song and it says... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      La, La, La, that little blue planet is heating up and cooking itself, La, La, La...

      I can see how you got your nickname.

    3. Re:I translated the song and it says... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      La, La, La, that little blue planet is heating up and cooking itself, La, La, La...

      I can see how you got your nickname.

      I dunno ... I thought both of you were pretty funny. One of the most oblique references to global warming I've ever heard.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    4. Re:I translated the song and it says... by number1scatterbrain · · Score: 1

      Let me guess. You gave yourself your nickname.

      --
      Remember the future...
  3. Re:Mummy by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny

    What does it sound like when God farts?

    A perfect being would not fart, it seems to me. Farting is allegedly part of humanity's punishment for eating an apple without underwear on and talking dirty to a snake (er....something like that).

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  4. Now you have really done it. by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's hope that the RIAA does not hear about this or they will require the sun to be DRM'ed by Sony's fantastic systems.

    1. Re:Now you have really done it. by The_Wilschon · · Score: 1

      Ye gods, no! A rootkit on the sun? The botnet turf wars we have now are bad enough, but when one of the nets takes over the rooted sun, we'll all be cooked!

      --
      SIGSEGV caught, terminating

      wait... not that kind of sig.
    2. Re:Now you have really done it. by Hotawa+Hawk-eye · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, tell the RIAA. They'll send their technicians to the sun to install DRM, and when their technicians come back radiation-blasted to report that they failed, they'll send in the lawyers. Two for one deal!

    3. Re:Now you have really done it. by Dolphinzilla · · Score: 4, Funny

      it will be OK - they said they are going to go there at night...

    4. Re:Now you have really done it. by TuringTest · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't mind if ALL rootkit & DRM devices were thrown into the sun...

      --
      Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
  5. "A series of tubes" by davidwr · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's what a certain Alaskan Senator called them.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  6. Re:Mummy by Dunbal · · Score: 1

    Assuming there IS a god in the first place.

    Well? One good troll deserves another...

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  7. not bad by kbox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sounds better than creed.

    --
    God Be Gone
    1. Re:not bad by fractalVisionz · · Score: 1

      Sounds better than creed.

      Indeed. However, it actually sounds like a pulse jet engine, here is a video.
  8. I would like to ask something... by JamesP · · Score: 0, Funny

    FREEBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    (lame lame filter, 2357113171923293137)

    --
    how long until /. fixes commenting on Chrome?
  9. Re:Mummy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Assuming there IS a god in the first place.
    Do many true believers in your part of the world make reference to the bodily functions of the divine?

  10. Star farts.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Alpha Centauri: Hey, who cut the cheese?
    Sol: Smells Sirius!

  11. Goal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I now know Man's ultimate goal: to engineer the Sun to play GOOD, WHOLESOME, GERMAN MUSIC. BACH!!!

  12. I'm sorry. by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm not clicking on something called wang_mov.avi

    --
    God spoke to me.
    1. Re:I'm sorry. by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 1

      Ok, downloaded Quicktime so I could get these files. I think it's pretty cool that there is sound in space. Maybe you could even hear a Tie Fighter as it roars past you.

      --
      God spoke to me.
    2. Re:I'm sorry. by smoker2 · · Score: 4, Funny
      I'm not clicking on something called wang_mov.avi again !

      There, fixed that for ya ;)

    3. Re:I'm sorry. by MarkRose · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's people like you that killed Wang.

      --
      Be relentless!
    4. Re:I'm sorry. by stonefry · · Score: 1

      What about limb-eruption.mpeg

  13. Many claim to have hundred million mile pipe organ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When average solar pipe organs are actually only 50 to 60 million miles at most.

  14. They must be playing... by harry666t · · Score: 0

    ...Sunshine Reggae!

  15. poto.... by Himring · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, 2001 space odyssey missed it as far as a score. It shoulda been phantom of the opera....

    --
    "All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
    1. Re:poto.... by weeboo0104 · · Score: 1

      Nope, 2001 had it right. The opening from "Also sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss (used in "2001 - A space odyssey" calls for a pipe organ in the orchesteral score.

      --
      It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
  16. University of Sheffield by sdaug · · Score: 3, Informative

    The correct name is The University of Sheffield, not Sheffield University.

    1. Re:University of Sheffield by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The correct name is The University of Sheffield, not Sheffield University.

      The correct name for that institution, whatever it may be, most assuredly does not contain the word University. "Sheffield A&M" would probably be closer to the mark.

    2. Re:University of Sheffield by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Sheffield is actually a research institution. Sunday Times University of the year '01, typically ranks in the top 20. Associated with four Nobel Prizes.


      Whats the beef?

  17. move along by P3NIS_CLEAVER · · Score: 1

    ...nothing to see here. This is no replacement for a Tool concert.

    --
    Please sign petition to restore sanity to our banking system!!!

    http://financialpetition.org/
    1. Re:move along by ptbob · · Score: 1

      It's not a replacement, it's the light show!

  18. Re:Mummy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    A perfect being would not fart, it seems to me. Farting is allegedly part of humanity's punishment for eating an apple without underwear on and talking dirty to a snake

    Bets?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj1KGZSFmfs

  19. hey baby.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey Baby, check out my Hundred Million Mile Pipe Organ.

  20. Ah Ha! by gethor · · Score: 2, Funny

    So that's what I've been hearing! And all this time I thought it was the North Star!

  21. Other sounds of the universe by RichPowers · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here are some sounds of Jovian "radio storms":

    http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/radiojove_ sbursts.htm
    http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/radiojove_ lbursts.htm

    And my favorite: a University of Washington professor used temperature variations in the cosmic background radiation to create the "sound of the Big Bang." This allows us to hear the first 760 thousand years of the universe. Of course the frequencies are boosted because the actual Big Bang frequencies are far too low to be heard by humans. Amazing stuff.

    http://faculty.washington.edu/jcramer/BBSound.html

  22. Re:Mummy by BakaHoushi · · Score: 1

    Personally, I'm not religious... at all... but I like to sum up life as this:
    Even God has to shit sometimes, and just hope you're not standing under Him.

  23. Nobody? by proxy318 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Gonna make me do this? Sigh...

    "That's a big organ".

    --
    Saying your "phone ran out of batteries" is like saying your "car ran out of gas tanks".
    1. Re:Nobody? by number1scatterbrain · · Score: 2, Funny

      You say that to all the boys, don't you, Paris?

      --
      Remember the future...
    2. Re:Nobody? by speculatrix · · Score: 1

      oblig star wars quote... "look at the size of that thing".

    3. Re:Nobody? by rts008 · · Score: 1

      Is that a 'Hundred Million Mile Pipe Organ' in yer pocket, or are ya just glad to see me?

      --
      Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  24. Re:all hail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's solar winds in the pipe organs.

  25. I think it's Tito Puente or the ID4 aliens... by trimbo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It sounds like a drumroll Tito Puente might have done. It's about the right pitch for one of his timbales.

    Although, it also kind of sounds like the signal being sent around on satellites in ID4.

    So basically it's either a message from one of the greatest Latin drummers or aliens hell bent on destroying the earth. Have a nice weekend everyone!

  26. I hate to nit pick, but.. by DigitAl56K · · Score: 1, Insightful

    .. AU audio files, MOV video files, and AVI files using a legacy video compressor Microsoft doesn't even ship any more?

    I'm sure the research is great. I'll pass until you make it presentable.

    Try http://www.drdivx.com/ and http://www.mp3dev.org/ .

    1. Re:I hate to nit pick, but.. by NeuroManson · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or I could just sum it up for you, and save you from having to install anything at all:
      "OooooOOOooooOooOoooooOOOOOooOOOooooOOOoOoOoooooOO OOooOooOooooooOoOooooOOOoOOooOooOOoOoOooOo"

      Any attempts at reverse engineering, however, will be rigorously pursued in court.

      --
      Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
    2. Re:I hate to nit pick, but.. by chazchaz101 · · Score: 1

      These files are probably the native output of the software/equipment they're using.

    3. Re:I hate to nit pick, but.. by Petrushka · · Score: 1

      What's the big deal? You have the permissions and can take the trouble to install the enormously bloated DivX package, but not VLC, which will happily deal with pretty much anything? Sorry, but it sounds like it takes very little to irk you.

  27. space sound recordings by jovius · · Score: 4, Informative

    There exists a wonderful collection of elecromagnetic waves made audible called "NASA space probe recordings" and "Symphonies of the Planets". The latter has five volumes total. They raised the frequencies of the voyager space craft recordings of the interplanetary magnetic and electric fields to audible range and released the resulting darkish ambient soundscapes.

  28. Vindication! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hah! So sound can travel in space! Take that, sci-fi nerds!

  29. i bet... by dunkelfalke · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... that this organ was also made by bloody stupid johnson

    --
    Conservatism: The fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is your inferior is being treated as your equal.
  30. Title stretches the truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From the article, the loops are up to 100 million km. 100 million km 100 million miles. So the tile is a bit exaggerated. Mistakes like this lead to problems with Mars probes...

    1. Re:Title stretches the truth by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Funny

      From the article, the loops are up to 100 million km. 100 million km 100 million miles. So the tile is a bit exaggerated. Mistakes like this lead to problems with Mars probes...
      And imagine what happens with the anal ones!
      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:Title stretches the truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Anal ones? Rectum completely!

    3. Re:Title stretches the truth by azenpunk · · Score: 1

      i always thought they should have renamed that probe to "mars excavator" posthumously

  31. My sun... by Brad1138 · · Score: 1

    Plays the pipe organ at Milky Way U

    --
    If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
  32. That's Bach! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Playing his organ in heaven. 3

    1. Re:That's Bach! by rabidGoat · · Score: 1

      More evidence that Donald Knuth http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/organ.ht ml was made a little more in God's image than the rest of us.

  33. Aphex Twin / Coralized versions to keep it fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This could be the next aphex twin song!

    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/

    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/1mode.au
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/3modes.au
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/Spark3Z.mov
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/limb-eruption_SOT_CaII_061120 _0715.mpeg
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/manymodes.au
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/movie_long.avi
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/movie_short.avi
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/sumer_fe19_ca15_ca13_s3_mov.g if
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/sxt_mov.gif
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/tornrtZ.mov
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/uksp-nam2007.txt
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/wang_mov1.avi
    http://www.robertus.staff.shef.ac.uk.nyud.net:8080 /movies/uksp-nam2007/wang_mov2.avi

  34. Well then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well then you might want to stay away from the limb-eruption movie...

    Just a thought.

  35. Solar pipe organ by proto+opus · · Score: 1

    Moody Blues, for the win.

  36. Not to rain on their parade but... by loourker · · Score: 1

    I hate to say this, but it really sounds like a noisy power supply. I mean it sounds like harmonics of 60 cycles.

    1. Re:Not to rain on their parade but... by Petrushka · · Score: 1

      Well, I'd venture a guess that it's not being played at the native sample rate ...

  37. Hey! Play it backwards, it says... by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

    Play the .au files backwards, and you distinctly hear "Turn me in, Glickman". An obvious reference to our glorious leader, MPAA pres. Dan "I'd love to turn you on to your new cell-mate" Glickman.

    --
    The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  38. Re:Mummy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No need to bring fictional characters into this

  39. I knew it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Space sounds *exactly* like a sci-fi movie.

  40. Sunn O))) has nothing on this. by BeneathTheVeil · · Score: 1

    Wow, that right there is some true droning doom. ...and no, I don't expect any slashdotters to get the reference.

  41. The Song Stays The Same... by JumperCables233 · · Score: 1

    Can you imagine the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic" with a hundred million mile pipe organ! Sweet!!!

  42. Re:Mummy by Bertie · · Score: 1

    If there is a God, farting is absolute proof that He has a sense of humour.