audible.color
Discussions in class led me to the subject of my first project, an exploration of wavelengths. The idea that light and sound were both wavelengths and could therefore be measured by the same scale and systems fascinated me.
The audible range of frequencies (sound) falls between 20 and 20,000 hertz. The visible spectrum of light, however, falls between 400 to 790 terahertz - much much more! However, since by halving the number of Hz within the audible spectrum, one gets a similar note, one octave down, my project was based on halving the measurements of specific colors to get their wavelength number down into the audible range. By "halving" each color's specific hertz measurement, I could eventually "octave down" each color into an audible wavelength. I had to halve each measurement between 12 and 14 times to bring the color down into the range of sound.
I used excel to run these calculations, then I input the numbers into a sin wave generator. I edited the resultant sounds together with their respective colors using Final Cut, and the result is this short video. Turn your computer volume all the way up for maximum brain-melting effect. The chord at the end is composed of all the colors and is meant to signify a melding or blurring of all colors.