June 11, 2014

Music under the microscope



Droplets on a microfluidic chip can be controlled so precisely that they become a musical instrument

Water droplets are musical. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen have converted the frequencies of droplets flowing through thin channels into musical notes. This is more than just a gimmick: The fact that droplets can be controlled so precisely that they become musical instruments means they are also of interest with regard to medical diagnostics applications.