Singing statues

Johns Hopkins University chemistry professor John H. Andrews demonstrates that all matter vibrates in harmonic wave patterns. He begins by using an oscilloscope and slow motion camera to show a plucked harp string's fundamental vibration at 64 times per second and its harmonics at a faster vibration. He compares this with the two-dimensional vibration of a drum membrane, also viewed on the slow motion camera and oscilloscope. Dr. Andrews then progresses to the three-dimensional wavelength of a sphere and notes that different and more complex harmonic patterns are based on the shape of the object. Since no two statues are alike, their wave patterns are all unique, as evidenced when a gadget taps them repetitively and their sound is recorded on magnetic tape. Dr. Andrews slows the tape to hear specific sounds and compares this to slowing a LP record on a record player from high speed to the proper speed to make the words recognizable. He explains that the aggregate vibration of the whole statue is based on its external shape, like atomic and molecular vibration. He points out that the formula for entropy, the measurement of the complexity of harmonic pattern, is the same as the formula for information theory, the measurement of the amount of information in a communication. Thus, a statue has high information value because its complex external shape gives it a high shape entropy and it communicates more meaning. This concept has implications for the communication values of modern v. classical art.