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.
Even better: imagine a massed NASCAR choir performing "The Star
Spangled Banner"! Being eight-cylinder engines, the frequency per
second would be 60/(4 x revs), which means you'd multiply the
note frequencies by 15 instead of 12: 'A' would arrive at
6,600rpm, 'C' at 3,923rpm, 'F' at 5,238rpm, etc.
Mark my words, someone will be getting rich at Daytona next year
selling a CD of NASCAR patriotic anthems.
