Can anyone speak to the Physics of the Ainulindale?

[HCIsland]

This may be a dangerous thing to admit, but my undergraduate degree was in Physics.

I'm also not sure what you are getting at or of the research to which you are refering. As was mentioned, sound is vibrations in matter, so without matter there is no sound. As such, you can't use sound to create matter.

Can sound be used to shape matter? Absolutely, though there are certainly more simple ways.

I doubt I'm helping.

Editted to add: Perhaps you are refering to quantum string theory. Here there is a definate connection between concepts surrounding vibration and periodic motion and the structure of matter. Although this has been often poetically refered to as the music of the heavens, one has to be careful in calling this sound in a real sense as the vibrations are really a mathematical model and imagining them physically can only be done through analogy.

However, if the Valar were explaining it to the Children of Iluvatar they would have to speak in the form of analogy and music would be the most appropriate one.

Arrgh! you're sucking me in. I don't have time for this. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

This is a cool thought though. Let me stew on it. I just read a book on this stuff last christmas.

H.C.

[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: HCIsland ]