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Advanced Topics in Theoretical Chemical Physics pp 479–514Cite as

Science and Music: From the Music of the Depths to the Music of the Spheres

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Part of the book series: Progress in Theoretical Chemistry and Physics ((PTCP,volume 12))

Abstract

Connections between science and music (and philosophy) go back to remote periods of history, when they did not exist as such but were part of magic rituals. The oldest known musical instrument is a 45,000 year-old (Neanderthal) flute made simply of a hollow bear bone, which was dug up in Slovenia in 1995. But the earliest complete, playable, multinote music instruments are small flutes made from hollow bird bones, found in a 9,000 year-old settlement at Jiahu, China, in 1999, Figure 1 [1].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France

    Jean Maruani

  2. Laboratoire de Photophysique Moléculaire, Université Paris-Sud, 91000, Orsay, France

    Roland Lefebvre

  3. Conservatoire Municipal, 26 rue Mouton-Duvernet, 75014, Paris, France

    Marja Rantanen

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  1. Jean Maruani
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  2. Roland Lefebvre
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  3. Marja Rantanen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

    Jean Maruani (Director of Research at CNRS, President of CMOA) (Director of Research at CNRS, President of CMOA)

  2. Laboratoire de Photophysique Moléculaire, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France

    Roland Lefebvre

  3. Department of Quantum Chemistry, University of Uppsala, Sweden

    Erkki J. Brändas

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Maruani, J., Lefebvre, R., Rantanen, M. (2003). Science and Music: From the Music of the Depths to the Music of the Spheres. In: Maruani, J., Lefebvre, R., Brändas, E.J. (eds) Advanced Topics in Theoretical Chemical Physics. Progress in Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0635-3_20

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