So, today I’m revealing some the depths of my true chemistry geekiness. As I was poring over press releases, I found one from the University of Michigan that was fun– but probably also too geeky– to propose as a story idea: a microfluidic device that moves droplets based on sound waves. First of all, some…
Like other double reeds, the rackett produced by this instrument probably decreases as the player’s skill increases. When I was working on my article about carbon fiber instruments, I traded emails with a researcher in musical acoustics in Australia. He saw my blog post about Papalini’s bass clarinet and said: If you’re interested in low…
No, it’s not some kind of YouTube ruse or even a clever trick. Some animals have rhythm according to papers published this week in Current Biology (this one and this one). So, yes, the science is cool, but when there’s a fun video to go with it? Even better. We’re a parrot-loving household (a nearly…
My most recent story (my first for Scientific American) combined all the elements of what I love about my work– the chance to meet interesting people, learn and experience new things, and allow my eclectic interests to co-mingle, at least for a little while. In other words, this former chamber musician got to flex my…
Watching the Inauguration on TV today, this former chamber musician and band geek had to give a shout out for the John Williams piece performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill. I performed in chamber groups on both flute and piano during my high school piano recitals.…