This Will Knock You B Flat
September 11, 2007Music soothes the savage beast. Except for alligators. Apparently music riles them up.
NPR’s Robert Krulwich reports that the note B flat has a lot of crazy properties, including provoking alligators to roar. Play a B flat one octave below middle C in front of a Gator and it’ll think you’re a rival reptile. Which is great if you’re into picking fights with alligators.
Krulwich also says a certain black hole in the Perseus cluster emits the note B flat 57 octaves below middle C. That’s more bass than Barry White, people.
The NPR article has the audio piece linked to it, which also features a catchy song. Krulwich points out how B flat keeps popping up in unexpected places. Perhaps your music or physics students can ponder this one for awhile, or research some other musical phenomena. But if you see them walking into the wilderness with a tuba, you might want to call an ambulance just in case. –BILL FERRIS
