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The sound of chemistry: Translating infrared wavenumbers into musical notes

Yes / The abstract nature of physical chemistry and spectroscopy makes the
subject difficult to comprehend for many students. However, bridging arts and science
has the potential to provide innovative learning methods and to facilitate the
understanding of abstract concepts. Herein, we present a high-school project based on
the conversion of selected infrared absorbances of well-known molecules into audible
frequencies. This process offered students a unique insight into the way molecules and
chemical bonds vibrate, as well as an opportunity to develop their creativity by
producing musical pieces related to the molecules they synthesized. We believe that
experiencing chemistry from an alternative viewpoint opens up new perspectives not
only for student learning but also for the decompartmentalization of scientific and
artistic disciplines. / This project was supported by the Royal Society (Partnership Grant no. PG\170122 to NPEB and NG and University Research Fellowship no. UF150295 to NPEB) and the Academy of Medical Sciences/the Wellcome Trust/the Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy/the British Heart Foundation springboard Award [SBF003\1170 to NPEB].

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/17729
Date05 March 2020
CreatorsGarrido, N., Pitto-Barry, Anaïs, Soldevila-Barreda, Joan J., Lupan, A., Comerford Boyes, Louise, Martin, William H.C., Barry, Nicolas P.E.
Source SetsBradford Scholars
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle, Accepted manuscript
Rights© 2020 ACS. This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Chemical Education, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00775, Unspecified

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