Paiste Planetary Gong — Mercury

Paiste tunes its Mercury gong to 141.27 Hz. The tuning comes from Hans Cousto's tables. Cousto took the time Mercury takes to orbit the Sun, about 88 days, and doubled its frequency 30 times, until it became a tone people can hear. Paiste names the gong by its lowest tone, C#2 at 70.64 Hz. That is the same note one octave lower, which means half the frequency.

1. Step 1. Start with the length of the cycle

   Mercury orbit around the Sun: 87.969 days.

2. Step 2. Turn it into a frequency

   One divided by that many seconds is 1.32 × 10⁻⁷ Hz. That is far too slow to hear.

3. Step 3. Double it 30 times

   Doubling a frequency raises it by one octave: the same note, higher. After 30 doublings it is 141.27 Hz.

4. Step 4. Name the note

   141.27 Hz is a C♯, 33 cents above standard tuning. A cent is one hundredth of the step between two neighboring piano keys. To play in tune with this tone, an instrument sets its A to 448.51 Hz instead of 440.

5. Step 5. Keep doubling and the number lands in the range of light

   42 more doublings give the frequency of light with a wavelength of 483 nm, which is blue-green. This is arithmetic. It pairs a tone with a color; it does not show that the two are connected.

The method is Hans Cousto’s. Planet gongs explained walks through it and says what it does and does not show.

What is said, not what was measured

In planetary gong practice this gong is associated with communication, intellect and mental agility.

Frequency

141.27 Hz

Wavelength in air (20 °C)

2.43 m

Nearest note

C♯3, 33 cents above standard tuning

Kind of statement

Instrument

Filed under

Instruments & gongs

• Paiste — Planet Gongs

  The maker’s own figures for each gong’s fundamental note.

  Paiste AG, Planet Gongs: product specifications.

  View source: Paiste — Planet Gongs

• Mercury Orbit (Cosmic Octave)Derived141.27 Hz