

When the pitch rises, it means the force of gravity is increasing as the two black holes collide. We can hear them because their wavelengths have been shifted all the way into the human range of hearing by MIT Professor Scott Hughes. We’re hearing gravitational waves, the ripples in space-time made by the tremendous mass of colliding black holes. SPEAKER: These are two black holes smashing together. We’re going to listen to a sonic treat from The World According to Sound podcast. IRA FLATOW: And now for something a little different, but still appropriately cosmic.
Youtube black holes code#
Science Friday listeners can get 25% off tickets and season passes by using the promo code SCIFRI25. For more about their 80-minute binaural events, go to /tickets. These sounds are part of a communal listening series the “World According to Sound” is putting on right now.

Some even make the sound of a wobbling top as the two black holes swirl around each other, before eventually meeting and becoming totally absorbed into one another. Some produce relatively high pitches, because of the intensity of the gravitational waves, while others have a low bass rumbling. Not all black holes come together at the same rate or release the same amount of gravitational waves, so each combining pair has its own particular sonic signature. When the pitch rises, it means the force of gravity is increasing as the black holes collide. ĭrawn together by their immense gravity, nearby black holes will swirl faster and faster until they are finally absorbed completely into one another. It is possible to hear them, because their wavelengths have been shifted all the way into the human range of hearing by MIT professor Scott Hughes. In this piece, you can actually listen to gravitational waves, the ripples in spacetime made by the tremendous mass of colliding black holes.
