Paiste Planetary Gong — Platonic Year

Paiste tunes its Platonic Year gong to 172.06 Hz. The tuning comes from Hans Cousto's tables. Cousto took the Platonic year, the time the Earth's axis takes to complete one slow wobble, called the precession of the equinoxes. He used the traditional figure of 25,920 years. The measured rate of precession gives about 25,772 years. He doubled its frequency 47 times, until it became a tone people can hear. It is the longest cycle in the tuning tables on this site. Paiste names the gong by its lowest tone, F2 at 86.03 Hz. That is the same note one octave lower, which means half the frequency.

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

   Precession of the equinoxes: 25,920 years (traditional figure).

2. Step 2. Turn it into a frequency

   One divided by that many seconds is 1.22 × 10⁻¹² Hz. That is far too slow to hear.

3. Step 3. Double it 47 times

   Doubling a frequency raises it by one octave: the same note, higher. After 47 doublings it is 172.06 Hz.

4. Step 4. Name the note

   172.06 Hz is an F, 26 cents below 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 433.56 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 396 nm, which is red-violet. 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.

Frequency

172.06 Hz

Wavelength in air (20 °C)

1.99 m

Nearest note

F3, 26 cents below 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