589 and 589.6

A sound and light installation
Ted Apel
sound, light

A low pressure sodium vapor lamp produces light at two similar wavelengths, 589.0 nm and 589.6 nm. Here, a sodium vapor lamp is accompanied by two speakers, one producing a sine tone with frequency 589 Hz and another with frequency 589.6 Hz. The work is intended to examine our assumptions about the meaningfulness of artistic sonification by presenting a minimal visual and sonic conjunction that is linked only by these two numbers.