Using the technology of a mad scientist who immigrated to the US from Eastern Europe, a student has devised a new musical instrument, though it's admittedly not all that melodic. He's given it two different names, one based on a Greek god and the other on a Norse, and both on a previous instrument. What is it?

edmund80

This may not be it, but may get us started in the right direction. I would say the musical instrument is the Aeolian Wind Harp, based on the ancient Aeolian harp. The latter is named after Aeolus, the Greek god of the wind. http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om01000.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolian_harp "The harp is driven by von Karman vortex street effect. The motion of the wind across a string causes perioding vortex downstream and this alternating vortex cause the string to vibrate. Lord Rayleigh first solved the mystery of aeolin harp in a paper published in the Philosophy Magazine. The effect can sometimes be observed in overhead utility lines fast enough to be heard or slow enough to be seen. A stiff rod will perform; a non-telescoping automobile radio antenna can be a dramatic exhibitor. And of course the effect can happen in other media; in the anchor line of a ship in a river, for example." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolian_harp#Operation So, the principle of sound production using the Aeolian harp is based on Theodore von Karman's description of the vortex effect named after him. Interestingly, he was born in Budapest and later migrated to the USA at age 49. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_von_K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_vortex_street And 'mad scientist' has been often used to describe scientific geniuses, especially prolific ones like von Karman although I could not find any reporting of him as one. As for the Aeolian wind harp itself, here is a sample of its sound and I would agree that it is not that melodic. http://www.oddmusic.com/clips/grandharp.mp3 There are a lot of citations of students making their own Aeolian wind harps and propping them on windows to make that odd wind-driven 'music'. Could not find the first student to do this, though. Neither could I connect good Bragi's harp to the mix! http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bragi_by_Wahlbom.jpg Which leads me to believe I may be down the wrong path. Please tell me you are not thinking of the hypnotic Tenori-on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGwDhKTrwU Jan 17 09, 5:10 PM

queproblema

Very interesting information, Edmund, and no, I'm not thinking of the hypnotic Tenori-on. It's somewhat closer to what I'm thinking of than the Aeolian Wind Harp, though. Curious that you found a man from Budapest. To spark your imagination, I was going to say a mad HUNGARIAN scientist, but discovered he wasn't Hungarian in the strictest sense of the word. Google returns 328,000 results for mad scientist ____________. (surname) Jan 17 09, 7:16 PM

edmund80

Here's another try. The mad scientist is Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb and who was born in Austria-Hungary (therefore not 'strictly' Hungarian) and who migrated to the USA. He also was a target for the 'mad scientist' stereotype. "Teller's vigorous advocacy for strength through nuclear weapons, especially when so many of his wartime colleagues later expressed regret about the arms race, made him an easy target for the "mad scientist" stereotype (his accent and eyebrows certainly did not help shake the image)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Teller Then there is Leon Theremin who invented the theremin which is described as producing an eerie sound and is played without actual contact with the instrument. "The theremin is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. It was originally known as the 'termenvox' or 'aetherphone', the former of which was subsequently anglicised to 'theremin' (sometimes misspelled theramin). The controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands and control radio frequency oscillator(s) for frequency with one hand, and volume with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. The theremin is associated with an "eerie" sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as those in Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Theremins are also used in art music (especially avant-garde and 20th century "new music") and in popular music genres such as rock." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin http://www.thereminworld.com/article.asp?id=17 And then he made the Terpsitone, named after the Greek muse of dance, Terpsichore. It was operated on the same principles of the theremin, only the whole body and not just hand movements was involved in producing the eerie sounds. It was described as impossible to control, which I'm sure would not lend itself to the production of great melodies. http://120years.net/machines/terpsitone/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terpsitone After all that, I still could not find a connection between Teller and Theremin let alone a Norse god with a knack for electronic music, but tomorrow is another day! I leave you with not one but two videos of cats playing mini-theremins. The first is a trio of cat virtuosos and the second is a veritable master class. And to think that concert halls used to be packed to hear this instrument being played. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_tk-XrXFHo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHqLFqmD89k&feature=related Jan 18 09, 2:22 AM

queproblema

Excellent second guess, and a little closer. My mad scientist was indeed born in Austria-Hungary, but about 50 years before Teller. And he was considerably madder, though constructive rather than destructive. The theremin is one of the two previous instruments. No, the cat music is definitely not melodic! You'll like the more powerful music I discovered better, I think. Maybe. Jan 18 09, 2:58 AM

edmund80

Lol! I seem to be headed everywhere but north. We are running out of space so here is a last try. The technology must be the synthesizer or variations thereof. The musical instrument is the Persephone, same name as the Queen of the Underworld in Greek mythology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persephone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persephone The Haken Continuum is another musical instrument that is synthesizer based (and both are derivatives in way of the theremin). This was made by Lippold Haken, but Haken could be a derivative of Haakon, who figures prominently in Norse history and mythology (Haakon the Red). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haken_Continuum http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Bl%C3%B3t Pretty sure this is still not it, so I unashamedly concede defeat to a tough question! Jan 18 09, 6:12 PM

queproblema

Nay, my gallant Edmund...be not pigeon-hearted. (Hint.) Betray not the spark of genius. (Hint.) This mad scientist who sparked the Second Industrial Revolution never dreamed his resonant transformer circuit would become a musical instrument of sorts, named for a progenitor of Persephone (by some accounts) and an instrument seen on football fields or, alternately, and more appropriately if perhaps less euphonically, for a loud and powerful Norse god and the theremin, as noted above. Both names are puns. Thunder on, Edmund. Or at least keep marching, ever faithfully. Maybe you can even find a YouTube demonstration. Jan 18 09, 6:47 PM

edmund80

Thank you for at least giving me Nikola Tesla who experimented with tuned circuits using high-voltage high-frequency resonant transformers, and who by the way was fond of pigeons later in life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla Now there are both Demeter amplifiers and Thor guitar amplifiers. http://demeteramps.com/reviews/vtdb2bmichaelcooper.html http://www.electrooptics.com/products/product_details.php?product_id=637 And yet I still don't know if I am even in the correct pantheon. Speaking of football stadiums - Go STEELERS! Jan 18 09, 8:11 PM

queproblema

Mercy, yes, correct pantheon! Thor thunders--yay! Who's the heavy-duty Greek counterpart? Which Tesla invention SPARKS? Properly "played," it also sings. Well, hums, or crackles. Keep marching, ever faithfully...up and down Mt. Olympus and the football field, or even Main St. or for the Washington Post. Greek god + marching = name of instrument Thor + theremin = alternate name of same instrument There. Now I've spelled out everything far too clearly. Jan 18 09, 11:18 PM

edmund80

By Jove, I am going to need thorazine after this. It is the Zeusaphone or thoremin. "Zeusaphone, also called a thoremin, is trademark for a high-frequency, solid state Tesla coil, when its spark discharge is digitally modulated so as to produce musical tones. The high-frequency signal acts in effect as a carrier wave; its frequency is significantly above human-audible sound frequencies, so that digital modulation is able to reproduce a recognizable pitch. The musical tone results directly from the passage of the spark through the air. The flexibility of the sound is limited by the fact that the solid-state coil produces square rather than sinusoidal waves; but simple chords are possible. This is a variant of the plasma arc loudspeaker, designed for public spectacle and sheer volume rather than fidelity." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeusaphone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_5xLrCKuMY You had to guide me through it, like sheep to the slaughterhouse, but I am glad to find it finally. Now for that thorazine shot. Jan 19 09, 1:26 PM

queproblema

Electrifying, Edmund....but, oh, my aching Bach! Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for Tesla Coil. !!! Compare to the pipe organ rendition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o This is the video I'd found, with some specs about the performance engineered by Steve Ward, a student in Illinois. http://hauntedfrog.com/gt/movies/2007/duckon/SingingTeslaShow.html Since you shorted out a few mental circuits getting there, try recuperating with a can of Jolt. Jan 19 09, 7:37 PM