For our next experiment we wanted to see what happened when using a solar panel to bring in light, creating control voltages to control pitch in a similar way to the LDR on the Fort Processor.
We've filmed a few of the results. These are very initial ideas so far. We wanted to imagine how Mars sounds and so far recordings by NASA show that yes Mars does sound like Noise ! (see video 2nd video in this post)
We wanted to use this idea on a simple circuit just to see what happened. We are using the same '4000 series' CMOS chips as in the oscillator section of the Chernobylizer. We skipped the breadboard this time and instead are using a cardboard/paper board and used a compass to poke out the holes for the components. The circuit is Ciat Lonbarde's 'Rungling', which we are using as a starting point to circuitbend and modify with an added small solar panel as light sensor.
Next we are going to experiment more with solar and other circuits. We are also trying out partially solar-powered circuits.
We have been looking at vintage electronics textbooks and websites for more inspiration and ideas about simple solar/audio circuits too. At the most basic level, a solar panel connected directly to a speaker or audio input can pick up light fluctuations and directly convert them to sound!
Sound on Mars
"The Perseverance rover carries two microphones, letting us directly record the sounds of Mars for the very first time.
Even though Earth and Mars are entirely different planets, it may be comforting to know that if you were on Mars, you might still sound pretty much like yourself. If you were standing on Mars, you’d hear a quieter, more muffled version of what you’d hear on Earth, and you’d wait slightly longer to hear it. On Mars, the atmosphere is entirely different. But, the biggest change to audio would be to high-pitch sounds, higher than most voices. Some sounds that we’re used to on Earth, like whistles, bells or bird songs, would almost be inaudible on Mars."
Below, Perseverance taking a selfie
Sounds from Mars. I've (Lisa) already loaded these onto my sampler and had a few Mars sound adventures while using them with FX. The closest I have gotten to outer space apart from looking through the telescope.
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