Quantum Beat for Sound Installation
2023
Sound installation; stainless steel, sound exciter
Dimensions variable
Commissioned by Sehwa Museum of Art
Quantum physics is the study of the world of atoms, the smallest unit of matter, and is known as a complex and perplexing field of study. All the same, Wonwoori finds something in common between the unfamiliar world of atoms' and the familiar world of 'sound.' In the coldest state in the universe, atoms generate extremely slow waves humans can hear, depending on a Bose-Einstein condensate, and the gathering of those atoms is like a quantum beat, a phenomenon caused by the vibration of sound. Wonwoori embarks on Quantum Beat for Sound Installation based on the hypothesis that sinusoidal waves, the minimum component of sound, and atoms the minimum component of our world, could be very similar or even the same. If that is the case, how can quantum particles be audible? Wonwoori discovers some musical possibilities in Richard Feynman's sum-over-paths approach, one of the theories in quantum mechanics, in order to transform quantum beats into music. This theory posits that quantum particles search for the most efficient route by considering all available paths before moving. Inspired by this theory, Wonwoori has documented the movement paths of atoms in probability and used them as raw material for additive synthesis. The two speakers placed in the venue are the departure and arrival points respectively, while quantum particles search for all paths between the two points. Each path taken by the quanta is translated into an audible sound that viewers can perceive. When standing at the midpoint between these speakers, participants can immerse themselves in the experience of quantum beats. This unique auditory encounter allows us to imaginatively connect with the world of quantum particles that surrounds us. It encourages meditation on the origin of sound and, by extension, the origin of our universe, as the sounds intensify with the accumulation of quantum movement paths.