Ogbonnaya Akpara

Math Summer Research

Mentor: Dr. Terrence Blackman

August 23rd, 2013

How can we hear the shape of the drum using Fournier analysis?

The basic question is this: Is it possible to distinguish between some shapes by using the

frequency spectrum alone. What do I mean? Can we “hear” the difference between a rectangular drum

and a circular drum or “what can you tell about a drum from its frequency spectrum”? Some features

are evident, others are not. Although the frequency domain representation of a signal may not tell us

everything about its source, it can indeed provide us with some information. Using techniques of

Fournier analysis and frequency domain representation, we will find out the information about the

shapes of drums that we cannot see. These techniques help us to determine the chemical composition

of star millions of light years away. Breaking up a sound or other signals into frequency components can

help us uncover fundamental information about origin and structure that is not otherwise evident.

Have you noticed that music and math are related? Stories were told that the violin prodigy

exceled in calculus while the musical composer was good at prime numbers. That’s how music and math

are connected to each other. The talent of music and math are related in even abstract ways. The

societal, psychological, and perhaps even biological factors involves in the coincidence of math and

music. Music and math are connected by wave phenomena and the understanding of sound.

Understanding sound as an example of wave phenomena provides a good forum for the

communication of ideas from music, physics and mathematics. Also, understanding the nature of sound,

such as Fournier analysis can be generalized to mathematical understanding of sound that has helped

foster the development of new technologies that extend the possibilities for musical exploration.

Music is an important role in many cultures. In some cultures, music is an active art in which
everyone encouraged will partake. In other cultures, music is a form of worship or entertainment to be

practiced by few individuals but appreciated by many. Music plays a key role in Greek society. It was an

element of religious ceremonies, sporting event and feast and it was part of Greek theatre. In making

their music, Greeks used techniques that are still commonly used today, employing strings, reed and

resonant chambers to create and control tones and melodies. The Greeks were the first people to apply

math to music. They did a pretty good job understanding what math would bring to music. The Greeks

noticed a relationship between harmonic intervals and rational numbers. They had the understanding of

the most basic musical concept of all (sound). Sound is caused by compression and rarefaction of air

molecules. Aristotle suspected that sound was some sort of “disturbance” that is propagated through

the air.
How do we hear? The ability to hear is such an integral part of life that many of us take for

granted. The ear is a complex organ comprising of three parts. The outer ear, inner ear and the middle

ear. It is important that each part is functioning correctly for us to hear properly. The outer ear is made

up of the skin and cartilage on the outside, and the ear canal that leads into your head. Also, it is the

part that collects sounds and directs them down the ear. The middle ear which begins at the ear drum

about 2.5 cm inside your head and includes the little bones that carry the sound vibrations to the area

where hearing really begins. The middle ear contains 3 small bones (n the hammer, anvil and stirrup),

these tiny bones are connected to both the eardrum and inner ear and they are shaped like a cone of a

loud speaker. The inner ear where those vibrations are changed into the signal that is carried to your

brain, which you experience as sound. This part of your ear controls your balance. In the inner ear, it is

mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. The inner ear is found in all vertebrates, with

substantial variations in form and function. The inner ear is innervated by the eight cranial nerve in all

vertebrates.

Sound waves travel down the ear canal and hit the eardrum in the middle of the ear. This

causes the eardrum to vibrate. The eardrum passes the vibrations through the middle ear bones or

ossicles into the inner ear. The inner ear is shaped like a snail and it is called the cochlea. Inside the
cochlea, there are thousands of tiny hair cells. Hair cells change vibrations into electrical signals that are

sent to the brain through the hearing nerve. The brain tells you that you are hearing a sound and what

that sound is. A string of length L can be idealized by the interval [0,L] for all real numbers x between

and including 0 and L (0<x<L). We represent a possible configuration of the vibrating string as a function

f (x, t) defined for x in [0,L].