>
Is this a load of cobblers? ripped from another forum I haunt...
> According to Tim Blair in Oz, the Asiatech folks
> have programmed
> their F-1 engine to play music. I quote:
>
> Load the link and press play.
>
http://astro.temple.edu/~kmr/Chauffe2.mp3
>
> First you'll hear a 10-cylinder, 750 horsepower
> Asiatech F1
> engine being warmed up. Then it performs a
> rousing version
> of "When The Saints Come Marching In", to the
> delight of
> assembled pit staff and journalists.
>
> Here's how the magic was achieved
> (technical/musical details
> via F1 Racing magazine):
>
> As we all know, a V10 engine produces five
> combustions per
> revolution at a frequency per second of 60/(5 x
> revs per
> minute), which equals 12/rpm. Therefore, to
> work out the
> revs you need to hit a particular musical note,
> you multiply
> the note's frequency by 12. To play a 440Hz
> 'A', for example,
> you need 5,280rpm. For 'C', use 3,139rpm, for
> 'F' 4,191rpm,
> and so on.
>
> Asiatech's French technicians (the engine,
> despite its name,
> is derived from a Peugeot design) simply
> programmed their
> engine to run through the various rev/note
> ranges in the
> correct sequence. The result is delightful. And
> think of the
> possibilities - BMW's F1 engine, which howls
> all the way to
> 19,050rpm, could rip through the entire Hendrix
> songbook.