The Internal 'Orchestra' of the Earth
John Bullitt demonstrates how he listens to the sound of objects. (image: Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff) - MIT Seismologist John Bullitt has synchronized the vibrations recorded by a global network of digital seismographs, shifted their frequencies up a number of octaves, sped them up, and made them audible to the human ear.
In the January 18th issue of the Boston Globe, correspondent Billy Baker tells of Bullitt’s long quest for a satisfactory rendition of the sounds of the earth’s internal vibrations. Bullitt’s upcoming projects include one on the internal sounds of the human body and possibly another on the sounds of the underwater world.
You can listen to samples of his work here. In one, where the sounds of Earth are sped up 10,000 times, you can hear the sound of seismic waves traveling through the Earth’s crust from distant earthquakes. You can buy the CD (and listen to samples) here. Read about the installation version of the project here.




















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