Musical Molecules: Nanofibers align to the sound of Beethoven and Mozart

<br>

Accordingly, a scientific question arises: Can molecules or molecular assemblies interact physically with the sound vibrations of music? In the journal ChemPlusChem, Japanese researchers have now revealed their physical interaction.

When classical music was playing, a designed supramolecular nanofiber in a solution dynamically aligned in harmony with the sound of music.

Sound is vibration of matter, having a frequency, in which certain physical interactions occur between the acoustically vibrating media and solute molecules or molecular assemblies.

Music is an art form consisting of the sound and silence expressed through time, and characterized by rhythm, harmony, and melody. The question of whether music can cause any kind of molecular or macromolecular event is controversial, and the physical interaction between the molecules and the sound of music has never been reported.

Scientists working at Kobe University and Kobe City College of Technology have now developed the supramolecular nanofiber, composed of an anthracene derivative, which can dynamically align by sensing acoustic streaming flows generated by the sound of music.

Time course linear dichroism (LD) spectroscopy could visualize spectroscopycally the dynamic acoustic alignments of the nanofiber in the solution. The nanofiber aligns upon exposure to the audible sound wave, with frequencies up to 1000 Hz, with quick responses to the sound and silence, and amplitude and frequency changes of the sound wave. The sheared flows generated around glass-surface boundary layer and the crossing area of the downward and upward flows allow shear-induced alignments of the nanofiber.

Music is composed of the multi complex sounds and silence, which characteristically change in the course of its playtime. The team, led by A. Tsuda, uses “Symphony No. 5 in C minor, First movement: Allegro con brio” written by Beethoven, and “Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, First movement”, written by Mozart in the experiments. When the classical music was playing, the sample solution gave the characteristic LD profile of the music, where the nanofiber dynamically aligned in harmony with the sound of music.

About the Author
Dr. Akihiko Tsuda is an Associate Professor of Kobe University, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science. His research is focused on using audible sound and/or light for controlling the structure, orientation, and chemical reactions of the molecules and molecular assemblies. He received The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Young Chemists in 2007, and Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, The Young Scientists' Prize, 2013.

Author: Akihiko Tsuda, Kobe University (Japan), http://www2.kobe-u.ac.jp/~akihiko/

Title: Acoustic Alignment of a Supramolecular Nanofiber in Harmony with the Sound of Music

ChemPlusChem, Permalink to the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cplu.201300400

Media Contact

Akihiko Tsuda Wiley-VCH

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors